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Kelowna outreach group hopes winter shelter comes soon

With the early onset of winter conditions this year, those without homes need shelter sooner
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The City of Kelownasa国际传媒檚 temporary outdoor shelter on Recreation Avenue, pictured in winter 2019. (Black Press Media file)

As the weather turns colder and the snow comes earlier, HOPE Outreach said its volunteers are worried about Kelowna residents who are experiencing homelessness.

The non-profit organizationsa国际传媒檚 executive director Angie Lohr said over the weekend, outreach teams saw about 10 women and 50 men without shelter.

sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e maybe waiting for shelters, maybe on a list. And I know all the agencies are coming together (to help),sa国际传媒 she said.

sa国际传媒淪adly, not too many of them do nighttime outreach. So between Bridges, Gospel Mission and a few other agencies that are going out this weekend, we just congregated and figured out who was going out when and who was bringing what.sa国际传媒

Lohr said HOPE volunteers distributed warm blankets, socks and mittens to those sleeping rough.

Those who wish to use the open space on Baillie Avenue can use it to camp overnight but because itsa国际传媒檚 an open space with no protection from the wind, Lohr said they only saw about two individuals using the area. The women who usually stay there have also left due to the cold, staying closer to where there are buildings.

And with COVID-19 restrictions on capacity, not a lot of people can access shelter services.

sa国际传媒淪o we have a lot of people sleeping rough. It was -11 degrees last night. Isa国际传媒檝e slept homeless in my past and it is not a pleasant experience. And itsa国际传媒檚 only going to get worse.sa国际传媒

sa国际传媒淓veryonesa国际传媒檚 scattered and trying to do the best they can, tenting in the woods somewhere off Enterprise or wherever they can get shelter right now,sa国际传媒 she said.

She said with the early onset of colder temperatures and snow, shesa国际传媒檚 hoping a temporary winter shelter can be made available soon but shesa国际传媒檚 not sure when exactly that will happen.

sa国际传媒淚 hope that theresa国际传媒檚 been an urgency over this weekend put into peoplesa国际传媒檚 minds that could perhaps speed up the processsa国际传媒 wesa国际传媒檙e just really hoping there is a suitable plan in place soon.sa国际传媒

READ: New supportive housing project for Kelownasa国际传媒檚 homeless skips usual rezoning process


Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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