The homeless in Kelowna have a safe outdoor space to enjoy but now staff at the Gospel Mission need help to ensure it can stay open.
The mission tore down its neighboring retail space to make way for a new courtyard.
“We are almost done construction and so we have a soft opening so people can come inside now,” said emergency service manager Phillip Whatman.
Staff at the mission believe the new courtyard will help provide a safe alternative for those who stay in places that put them at odds with the police, business owners and people who prey on the homeless.
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But now that there’s been a soft opening, there’s one more step before the mission can keep the doors to the courtyard open: they need people to help run it.
“Depending on if we have staff or volunteers to man it, so we are just trying to get a lot of volunteers to join our project and just having a kind of sanctuary for those who don’t have a place to go,” Whatman said.
Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to contact the Gospel Mission for details.
~ With files from Angela Jung and Kelly Hayes
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