Council is giving the downtown homeless shelter, The Portal, a reprieve until the end of August — to avoid displacing those already living precariously.
The area east of Five Corners has seen a spike in camped-out people, open drug use, and garbage that has tested everyone’s limits.
The Portal is a winter shelter, run by Ruth and Naomi’s Mission, and funded by BC Housing, that’s been in operation since early December 2018. Since it was temporary, it was slated to close on March 31, 2019.
But City council voted Tuesday to keep it running until the end of August 2019, and passed a resolution to that effect, directing bylaw staff to continue to hold off on enforcing zoning and building code regulations at the commercial building site so that it can run as a shelter in a commercially zoned building.
For the past five years, Chilliwack’s downtown has been pushed to the brink with a dramatic influx of homelessness and substance use related behaviours. With the 45 spaces at The Portal, there are more than 170 spaces at the main shelter at Ruth and Naomi’s Mission, Salvation Army, Ann Davis and Cyrus Centre.
“This (extension) should allow for both the Yale Road and Trethewey Avenue modular housing projects to be completed to avoid displacing people onto the street before housing is made available,” according to the staff report, offering the rationale for the recommendation to extend the operation.
BC Housing’s 92 modular housing units with high supports to be run by Rain City Housing, and the 115 affordable rental apartments to be operated by MQHS and Ruth and Naomi’s, are expected to open later this year, and to relieve the considerable pressure.
The Portal, which is staffed around the clock, with security services, has been successfully directing folks to housing, health, mental health and addiction services, with more than 20 people in line for modular housing when it opens, and another set seeking substance treatment.
More than 20 to 25 people with multi-barrier issues won’t enter a shelter. But on average The Portal, a “temporary” overnight and daytime shelter, has seen 45 people bedding down most nights this past winter, with more squeezed in when the mercury dipped below zero.
The city decision to keep the shelter going is subject to the Chilliwack fire chief conducting an inspection at 46293 Yale Rd. and confirming there are no immediate safety concerns.
READ MORE: Shelter galvanizing community
READ MORE: Rough winter on the streets
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