Funding has been secured to keep the Chilliwack Wellness Centre open for three years by converting it into a 24/7 homeless shelter.
That will fill an “urgent need” for those experiencing homelessness in downtown Chilliwack since the other shelters are full, council heard from staff at the last council meeting.
Council voted March 5 to forego enforcement of its zoning and building code regulations, to permit the Wellness Centre to operate on Trethewey Avenue, run by Pacific Community Resources Society (PCRS), until 2026.
It will be converted into an overnight homeless shelter, with daytime community hub space, to serve those living precariously on the streets or in makeshift camps.
It took some wrangling, and partnerships, and it will mean some changes are coming.
“Significant effort has been expended to secure annual funding from Fraser Health and BC Housing to keep the Wellness Centre and Overdose Prevention Site (OPS) open,” the city staff report noted.
Council has in turn made the policy decision to allow the service providers to keep the doors open at the current site.
This was the staff recommendation passed by council:
“Whereas an overnight shelter and a daytime wellness centre are urgently needed to accommodate and support many people who are living precariously on the downtown streets and through the City in makeshift camps with significant negative impact to themselves and the surrounding community, and existing shelters are operating at full capacity;
“And whereas, funding has been made available through partnerships with BC Housing, Fraser Health Authority to support the operations of a Wellness Centre and Shelter, and the Fire Chief has inspected the building and conclude that there are no immediate safety concerns.
“Be it resolved that Council make a policy decision for six months not to enforce the Zoning Bylaw or BC Building Code for these specific uses at 45951 Tretheway Avenue until Dec. 31, 2026.”
The facility first opened its doors on Trethewey as a daytime centre, a pilot project for those experiencing homelessness in the fall of 2022. That’s when council made the decision not to enforce the bylaw or building code, it was much the same way it did when The Portal was operating on Yale Road east, since those properties were not specifically zoned for those uses.
The centre offered a culturally-safe, trauma-informed space with wrap-around supports, and later became an overdose prevention site, (OPS).
Fraser Health has overdose prevention site locations across the region including the Wellness Centre in Chilliwack and the OPS on Cheam First Nation and in other locations. They are geared to “preventing drug overdoses and overdose deaths, and reducing the adverse health, social and economic consequences associated with substance use,” according to Fraser Health.
Services at an overdose prevention site:
• Witnessed consumption
• Harm reduction
• Safe sharps disposal
• Take Home Naloxone training
• Drug checking
• Referrals to services
READ MORE: Centre opens on temporary basis to serve living rough