The city is extending supports at the Memorial Arena for the Kamloops homeless population.
Kamloops said it is supporting BC Housing to continue to provide urgent and temporary solutions at the arena.
The city owned recreation centre located on Victoria Street has been used as a temporary shelter facility since May of 2020, and on Tuesday, council unanimously voted in support of extending the BC Housing license until another shelter is set up.
According to the city, it is actively working with BC Housing to find and set up a new location for the shelter.
With hopes of providing alternatives for residents who use the arena, the city is said it will be extending the hours at other arenas in Kamloops, and are looking into using arenas in neighbouring communities, such as Logan Lake and Chase.
Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian said he knows this decision can be inconvenient for residents.
“We recognize the hardship this will cause for recreation groups in our community, particularly on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said noting that it was a necessary sacrifice. “To return Memorial Arena to recreational use without an alternative shelter location would result in many people being displaced into unsheltered street homelessness, which is not an option.”
The news of the extension comes only a few months after the 2021 Point-in-Time Count identified 222 individuals were experiencing homelessness in the city.
The current Kamloops shelter captivity is 130 beds, which means more than 90 individuals would not have access to these supports on any given night.