The City of Nanaimo is opening the Beban social centre as a warming place on Wednesday and Thursday nights for people who need a place to stay during the cold weather.
The Vancouver Island chief medical officer called on the city to help because there was not enough space in existing shelters, causing a hazard to human health, a Nanaimo statement said.
The Beban social centre will be open from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. both nights.
Current shelter and warming services in Nanaimo include:
- Risebridge is open 24 hours to offer warming centre services during extreme cold. With the current staffing model they can assist 50 individuals at a time, seven days per week. (Regular warming hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.).
- 7-10 Club Society (at St. Paul’s Anglican Church) operates from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. during extreme cold. It can assist 30 to 40 people at one time. Open Monday to Friday. Regular warming hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Unitarian Shelter offers 27 overnight shelter beds and during extreme cold offers daytime warming centre services to their shelter guests only.
- Salvation Army has 35 overnight shelter beds and daytime access only for existing shelter guests.
- Samaritan Place has added five additional beds during extreme cold in addition to their existing 14 beds.
- St Peter’s Winter Shelter now has 36 beds open 8 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.
A full list of drop in and indoor meal services is at the city’s Services and Supports page at nanaimo.ca/goto/supports.
