A previously winter-only shelter at the Victoria Native Friendship Centre will operate year-round when it reopens, likely next week.
The 25-bed shelter has been operating as a winter-only space since 2018, normally opening from October or November through to the end of March, which made staffing the facility difficult, said executive director Ron Rice.
Last winter, the centre wasn’t able to find enough staff to operate the shelter until December, which postponed its opening, Rice said. Another year, the shelter wasn’t able to open at all because only two people applied for 19 part-time positions.
After the friendship centre advocated for the facility to operate year-round, it received funding from B.C. Housing to staff the facility permanently, he said.
Now that it can advertise permanent positions, Rice said, the centre has been able to recruit almost 100 per cent of the staff needed to run the shelter.
“The end of the season was such a hard time for us and for our guests, and we’re so grateful that the decision was made.”
People need to be referred to the shelter by a service provider to ensure they’re a good fit, Rice said, which means many return night after night.
Last winter, about 20 of the 25 mattresses were occupied by the same people for the entire season, he said. While priority is given to Indigenous people, who are over-represented in the unhoused population, anyone is welcome.
Those with a spot in the shelter are offered a shuttle ride from downtown to the friendship centre, located in a residential area near Tillicum mall, where they’re greeted with a hot meal on arrival and access to hot showers and laundry.
The shuttle returns people downtown in the morning with a takeaway meal.
The transition from seasonal to year-round shelter comes as rent in the region becomes increasingly unaffordable for many.
Last winter, nine people staying in the shelter had full-time jobs and some worked second jobs, Rice said.
“The reality facing the homeless population or the under-housed population is getting to staggering levels. And housing affordability is a big part of that,” he said.
The friendship centre’s 25 beds are in addition to 275 year-round shelter spaces in Victoria funded by B.C. Housing as part of the province’s funding of 5,000 shelter spaces throughout B.C. this winter.
Another 60 spaces are available during extreme weather alerts, and a further 20 mats have been added for the winter at Our Place Society.
Grant McKenzie, communications director at Our Place, said the new mats became available Wednesday night after B.C. Housing agreed to requests for more funding to increase the shelter capacity during the winter.
The 20 new mats will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, while 34 year-round beds can be reserved by people leaving in the morning who intend to return, McKenzie said.
This is a corrected version of this story. An earlier version, based on incorrect information provided to the Times Colonist, said the shelter would open on Thursday.
