Things are moving quickly to put a roof over the heads of Chilliwack's most needy.
"I don't think anyone would be surprised by the opinion, held by council and by the Salvation Army, that homelessness is not a healthy situation for the citizens of Chilliwack," said Tim Bohr, community ministries director for Salvation Army, at city hall Tuesday.
"We certainly want to do everything in our power to address it," he said.
Bohr shared their "deepest gratitude" and appreciation for the support shown to them by Chilliwack council, and provided an overview of their bold plans to address homelessness in the coming year.
A large, permanent shelter is the cornerstone of their long-term vision, and an MOU agreement for a 70-unit facility was signed by City of Chilliwack and Salvation Army reps recently, with $700,000 set aside in city funds for the project.
It is seen as the next big step given the success to date of the 30-bed low-barrier shelter at the Salvation Army, operating out of of the soup kitchen space on a temporary, emergency basis.
Now it's also clear that a modular shelter will be in place at the Salvation Army's Yale Road site in as little as six to eight months.
It comes on the heels of the formal submission by Salvation Army for a permanent, low-barrier, 70-bed shelter and transitional housing facility with a capital cost of $6.8 million, which is now awaiting formal approval and funding from BC Housing.
But in the interim, BC Housing came forward with the idea for a modular shelter for 50 to 60 people.
The floor plan, presented at city hall Tuesday, shows a modular building with two-bunk pods, for either male or female guests.
"The neat thing (about the layout) is that we'll have some multiple-use beds," said Bohr.
"So if we were to have transgender persons who presents themselves, we will be able to provide a little more privacy" for them.
The modular shelter will also have a common area and private shower spaces in the bathrooms.
"We would look to this layout model as a template for the permanent 70-bed shelter that would be built on our back property," Bohr added.
Because the "interim" modular shelter gained favour and funding, it has made local officials more optimistic that the larger, permanent shelter idea will also get the go-ahead.
"Because of the language being used, we feel they are also perhaps favourably inclined toward the larger 70-bed permanent structure, and because they are investing in the interim shelter," Bohr said, expressing some cautious optimism about the future.
The interim option is going ahead "because the need is so high," noted Bohr, and will replace the temporary 30-bed shelter, that's been operating in the soup kitchen in recent months.
It's been a "very successful," low-barrier experiment to date, with no disruptions, and has allowed them to "give hope," and options, to those staying on foam mats overnight at the emergency shelter, said Bohr.
A "low-barrier" shelter refers to the lack of restrictions that guests must be clean or sober, only that they not be a threat to themselves or others.
He thinks any inclination in their favour may be in part a result of an eye-opening shelter tour in Chilliwack that BC Housing officials were taken on by city reps a while ago.
"That provided for BC Housing, perhaps for the first time, a clear understanding of the crisis that homelessness was presenting for the community of Chilliwack, and their response was to offer to partner on the interim option."
The interim modular option could see a fall 2017 opening, but the 30-bed shelter in the soup kitchen will continue operation until such time as the new shelter is open.
Mayor Sharon Gaetz expressed council's appreciation of the Salvation Army's work in Chilliwack.
"I've been able to watch times when staff are working incredibly hard, like when we had the fire under the overpass," Gaetz told Bohr.
"It was sweet to see Salvation Army volunteers helping. And you do this absolutely every day, so thank you for caring for the most vulnerable people in our city, and thank you for doing it with such grace, kindness and humility."