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Winter shelter proposal spurs debate at Penticton council

Council expressed concerns from transparency to accessibility on the shelter
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BC Housing and 100 More Homes are looking to get council approval to use a space in this building in Penticton's industrial area as a temporary winter shelter.

Penticton council spent close to an hour listening to a presentation and discussing plans around a winter shelter in the city's industrial area. 

In the end, council approved the temporary permit to use the warehouse space at 402 Warren Ave. for a temporary winter shelter between November and March. 

The shelter is planned to be open 24-7 and will be required to have additional security on site as well as regular bylaw patrols in the area. There will also be a weekly review committee that will be active through the shelter's permit. 

A large portion of the debate was spent on public concerns over the shelter, and the lack of transparency in how effective previous shelters have been.

Coun. Ryan Graham praised staff's plan to establish their own in-house data tracking instead of relying on other organizations deciding what information they want to share.

"There is a fundamental need for shelters, there's no disputing that," said Graham. "The nonprofits that run these shelters are incredible organizations doing incredible work with the playbook that they're allowed. I'm still on the fence either way but I am absolutely over BC Housing and Interior Health moving forward."

The previous emergency shelter, which was opened only when temperatures dropped below a certain level, was located at a warehouse which is now being redeveloped as part of Health and Innovation District project across from the Penticton Regional Hospital. 

The city has said that by making the Warren Avenue site a temporary shelter instead of an emergency shelter would allow it to provide service all through the winter, and would be able to house people during the daytime. 

Other concerns were addressed regarding who will be allowed to access the shelter, as well as the costs for the shelter on city resources. 

Staff were also asked and confirmed that unlike in 2021 when BC Housing kept the Victory Church shelter open despite opposition, the city was the one with the lease agreement and the temporary use permit and it would be very difficult to keep the shelter open past it's planned closure date. 

Council nevertheless attached an additional condition to their approval of the permit that called on staff to prepare alternate plans if the lease agreement needs to be cancelled. 

Mayor Julius Bloomfield noted that staff had made a distinct effort to avoid a repeat of the 2021 issues. 

"After that I said to staff, 'This isn't right, we need to have something better than this.' What we're looking at today is a better plan," said Bloomfield. "Here is a plan that at least has the potential for success. What we had, the shelters were being shelters being set up for failure. This is the best scenario for a shelter being set up for success."

Coun. Helena Konanz also made a motion that called for the operator of the current Compass Court shelter and for the Burdock House supportive housing to come before city council with reports on turnover rates and how many individuals they ban from their premises. 



Brennan Phillips

About the Author: Brennan Phillips

Brennan was raised in the Okanagan and is thankful every day that he gets to live and work in one of the most beautiful places in Canada.
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