Maple Ridge says busy shelter ‘dysfunctional’

WATCH: The Salvation Army is often held up as an example of compassion and generosity but it’s at the centre of controversy in Maple Ridge tonight. John Hua reports.

MAPLE RIDGE, B.C. – The City of Maple Ridge is severing ties with the local Salvation Army shelter in a dispute over how the problem of homelessness should be handled in that Metro Vancouver suburb.

Mayor Nicole Read says clients of the Salvation Army’s “Caring Place” return repeatedly to the facility.

Council believes that amounts to a “dysfunction” because it says the Salvation Army can’t seem to help the homeless connect to the services and housing that would get them off the street.

Read says council has asked BC Housing to end its contract with the shelter.

She says homeless campers are a financial and social strain on the community and Maple Ridge needs a shelter operator that can help solve the problem.

The city is expected to release plans for a temporary six-month shelter very soon.