People in need of a warm, safe place to go to during the months ahead will now have access to additional emergency shelter spaces through B.C.'s temporary extreme weather response shelter program.
In Prince George, these additional spaces include:
- Active Support Against Poverty, 1188 6 Ave. (15 spaces)
- Association Advocating for Women and Children, 144 George St. (10 spaces for women only)
- Prince George Native Friendship Centre Society, 140 Quebec St. (15 spaces for men only)
“During the colder months, it’s important that people experiencing homelessness in our province know that there is a place they can go to get warm and find supports and services that can help them stabilize their lives,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing in a news release.
“As we continue the work of building permanent housing, we’re proud to work in partnership with communities and non-profit housing providers to provide these shelter spaces.”
Extreme weather response shelters will be available from Nov. 1, 2019 until Mar. 31, 2020.
Individual communities establish a plan of the weather conditions that warrant an extreme weather alert and determine the number of spaces to activate on a given night, depending on the capacity of existing shelters and the estimated need.
These emergency shelter programs work with communities and non-profits throughout B.C. to provide temporary but immediate places to stay for anyone who is experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
This season, the province will open almost 1,355 temporary shelter spaces and over 820 extreme weather response shelter spaces.
These emergency shelters supplement the more than 2,000 permanent, year-round emergency shelter spaces.
