LETHBRIDGE- The Van Haarlem historical hospital on 7th Avenue went up in flames Friday morning, leaving close to a dozen people homeless.
“As soon as I got on site they advised me that everyone was out of the building and I breathed a sigh of relief,” says Ken Kissick with Streets Alive Mission. “That was my greatest fear. Then we started working with different agencies letting them know we were able to help.”
Kissick ran a program twice a week at the Van Haarlem boarding house where he brought bagged lunches and clothing items to residents.
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Kissick describes the majority of the renters as low income and many suffered mental health issues.
“We did lose one of our transitional housing units that have been used for transitional housing that was roughly 30 rooms. It that will be difficult to replace,” he adds.
Home Base in Lethbridge says the last few days have been hectic and emotional as the housing agency scrambles to find homes for the victims of the fire.
“It’s certainly a crisis and emergency when there are that many individuals trying to find housing for them. We have been able to place them in hotels and what’s going to be happening is we will be working with other agencies closely like AISH and other housing first agencies to try and assist them,” says Nichole Fox with Home Base in Lethbridge.
Fox says most of the residents are residing at hotels throughout Lethbridge are staying with friends. The agency says it’s close to placing all the victims in permanent homes.
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