VERNON — Every night in Vernon it’s the same story: too many people looking for a warm place to sleep and not enough beds.
Fehr says the society has seen a shift in its clientele with an unusually high influx of women accessing the shelter’s services.
“This past year we’ve been turning more women away,” says Fehr. On average, the shelter turns away people roughly 60 times a month but that number climbed to 117 at its peak.
With the cold weather approaching, there’s concern there won’t be enough room to house everyone.
The B.C. government has renewed its annual commitment of ten extreme weather shelter spaces at the Gateway House, but with the unprecedented numbers accessing the shelter, the fear is that won’t be enough. Also, those extreme weather beds can’t be accessed unless it’s -1 degree or colder.
Staff at the shelter are now making contingency plans should there be an overload of people needing its services.
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