The Bread of Life officially opened its new shelter on Third Avenue on Friday, June 9. Although this was the official opening, the shelter has been pressed into use multiple times since April.
“What you’ve done here is what was needed 30 years ago,” Hupacasath First Nation elected Chief Councillor Brandy Lauder said. “You (Salvation Army) are one of the local charities, local churches, who actually give back to the people who need it the most.”
She said she supports the Salvation Army because “they’re the ones on the front lines: they’re down on Fourth (Avenue), they’re down on Third (Avenue) and they’re helping our most weak and needy people that we have.”
Irene Robinson, speaking for Tseshaht First Nation, thanked the people responsible for providing another shelter for the city’s vulnerable population—many of whom are from Indigenous communities. “This is one of our teachings, is we help everybody. You honour our teachings,” she said.
Shelter manager Lisa George read aloud a statement provided by BC Housing, which applauded the Salvation Army for stepping up in 2020 to operate a temporary drop-in centre, and now to open a new shelter. “We know shelters aren’t a long-term solution,” the statement read, “but it’s a way to support people until they can be in affordable housing.”
Operational funding for the shelter is coming from BC Housing.
City councillor Deb Haggard said when the Salvation Army first came to city council with their plans for a shelter she wasn’t sure what the final product would look like. “This is so clean and fresh and bright; what a safe space for people to come.”
The shelter provides 25 bunk beds and will have five staff members available.
The shelter was under construction for two months, George said. When a fire in a unit of the Beaufort Hotel displaced nearly two dozen people in mid-January, the Bread of Life opened its doors to give residents a place to stay even though the shelter part wasn’t yet finished. The shelter was also pressed into service when residents from the Wintergreen Apartments on Fourth Avenue lost their homes during a fatal fire.
A temporary shelter was opened in the former Order of the Fraternal Eagles hall on Third Avenue. When the major structural work at the new shelter was completed in April, the temporary shelter was closed and staff moved into the new space. The rest of the finishing work was done once they were moved back in.
Construction included installing new bathrooms for men and women and an accessible bathroom too. All are equipped with showers, and a commercial laundry as well as guest laundry was installed too, George said.
A third community office was added: Island Health uses one, the shelter uses one and there is a third that is shared between other community agencies.
The Bread of Life will now offer 24-hour low-barrier service to some of the city’s most vulnerable people. The soup kitchen side is open during the day, and the shelter starts signing in people to sleep at 9 p.m.