New emergency winter shelters open in Vancouver
The City of Vancouver, with funding from the provincial government, has opened four emergency shelters in different neighbourhoods: Mount Pleasant; South Granville; West End; and Kitsilano. The communities where the shelters will be located have been identified as having substantial homeless populations and a lack of shelter services. These low-barrier shelters will be open until April 30, 2010 and are in addition to three HEAT shelters opened in 2008 that will also continue operating until April 30. Altogether, there are seven City shelters operating this winter with space for 500 people.
The first of the new winter shelters opened December 22 in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood with space for up to 40 people. The site, 677 East Broadway, is one of the City of Vancouver’s 14 sites that will be developed into supportive housing in partnership with BC Housing. A second shelter, with space for another 40 people, opened January 6 at 1435 Granville Street (the location of a previous HEAT shelter). Space for another 40 homeless people opened January 12 at 747 Cardero Street in the city’s West End. RainCity Housing and Support Society is operating the Mount Pleasant, Granville Street, and West End shelters.
The final City winter shelter opened January 15 at 1642 West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano. This shelter, with capacity for 40 people, is operated by MPA Society.
These shelters provide a safe place to stay and two meals a day during the winter months. As low-barrier facilities, they welcome homeless people who may wish to bring shopping carts and/or pets with them.
Creating a caring environment for women seeking shelter
The clients who stay at St. James Community Service Society’s Powell Place Shelter in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside have one thing in common. They are all cared for by staff who are genuinely concerned about them. Rhonda Peters supervises those staff.
"Having a compassionate environment makes a big difference to how well the women we work with do," said Rhonda. "One of the main things we work with them on is finding housing. Some request to go to treatment or detox; others stay for a couple of weeks before moving on. We work with them to find the appropriate place to live based on their lifestyle needs, rather than just a place to stay. We stay in touch once they find housing in case they need help. This means they have supports they need to stay housed."
Beyond needing a decent and safe place to live, many of the shelter’s clients have addictions and/or mental health issues. St. James’ staff connect them with support services within their community, and listen to their concerns about some of the challenges they are facing. They will accompany them to appointments if needed. "A big part of our work is to show the women that they deserve to be cared for," said Rhonda.
"Their feelings about living on the streets and addictions can make them feel they are not worthy. We try to create an environment that builds their esteem. That helps them realize the benefits to eating healthy foods, getting enough sleep, wearing warm clothes in the winter - showing them they deserve to take care of themselves, as well as to be taken care of."
There are 26 beds at Powell Place - and they are always full. "There’s usually about five minutes between the time someone leaves and a new client arrives," said Rhonda. The recent opening of The Umbrella at 625 Powell Street., another shelter operated by St. James, added an additional 26 beds that are available to homeless women in the Downtown Eastside.
The effect of being funded to be open 24 hours a day and to offer support services has been "amazing" in Rhonda’s eyes. "We’ve seen huge increases in the number of women who stay housed. The standards of the single room occupancy hotels have also improved with BC Housing’s purchase of so many of them. The women we place there now feel they are moving on to a better place."