As we reported earlier today, a new temporary shelter for the homeless is about to open in downtown Kelowna. It will initially take in 20 people, and eventually as many as 40. It's to be called Welcome Inn, and it's happening at the building at 1265 Ellis Street which used to be home to the Kelowna Food Bank. It's currently the property of the Metro Community Church. We spoke to Metro's Board Chairperson Jason Siebenga about the plans. 

The project is headed-up by BC Housing in partnership with a new group being called 'Welcome Inn'. It will be operated with volunteers coordinated by Vernon-based Turning Points Collaborative Society. Siebenga said the most important message right now, is that the program needs volunteers to succeed. He said it will provide immediate relief to those people who find themselves tenting in places like the on the City has made available off Recreation Avenue. "We're going to start out with 20 people and there's obviously the other facility opening on Fuller," Siebenga pointed out, "so the hope is between these, there will be a bed for everybody in our community."

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For people like Aaron Giesbrecht, who spent the night in the tenting area near the curling club it's welcome news. "I would take advantage of something warm," said Giesbrecht. "Most everybody here is, sort of, central to downtown, so they need something in that area."

Photo Credit: KelownaNow Aaron Giesbrecht

"To go down and hang out at Tent City and see people having to pack up their tents every morning and struggling like that," said Siebenga, "it seems very unfair in a place where we live with so much resources."

The facility is expected to open later this month, but it's strictly a temporary winter shelter, closing at the end of March. 

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"I don't know a lot of the details about what's coming after," he said, "but I'm very aware that there's another couple of projects coming on-line in the spring that are going to help support people in their transition."

Along with shelter, guests will have access to daily meals, storage for their belongings, washrooms and amenity space with staff on-site at all times.

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The Church has been reaching out to neighbours in the area about the plan and early reaction has been surprisingly positive.

The facility will operate from a Housing First principle. People with drug abuse issues will not be excluded. This means drug use will be permitted on site, however only in a designated area monitored by staff.

For a little more on Aaron Giesbrecht, you can watch the entire interview below. Giesbrecht reacts to the news of the Metro Church shelter and also explains a bit about life on the street and how he wound up there in the first place, and how hard it is to turn his life around now that he's in this situation.