PROVINCE GIVES $985K FOR NEW KAMLOOPS EMERGENCY SHELTER

KAMLOOPS – Provincial and community partners gathered today to celebrate the official opening of Emerald House, a new eight-bed emergency shelter owned and operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)-Kamloops for homeless women and their children.

“Emerald House will give women and their children the security and support services they need and, most importantly, the opportunity to change their lives,” said Kamloops MLA Claude Richmond. “By opening this emergency shelter, we are one step closer to breaking the cycle of homelessness and creating better futures for families.”

The Province provided $199,000 in funding for renovations and furnishings for Emerald House. The Province will also provide up to $786,000 in ongoing annual operating funding for staffing and programming services.

“The provincial government is actively looking at new opportunities to address the unique needs of families in British Columbia,” said Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Kevin Krueger. “This emergency shelter will improve lives of women and children by providing much-needed security, stability and, best of all, a home for those most in need.”

The emergency shelter accommodates up to eight people and consists of four bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and two bathrooms. Operations will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week with two staff on duty at all times.

“Through the provincial funding we received for the emergency shelter, our organization has the capacity to provide much-needed services to our community’s most vulnerable,” said Susan Guthrie-Dick, manager of shelter program, CMHA- Kamloops. “In the short time since we’ve opened, we have already been able to house 14 women to help them break free from homelessness.”

Administration and support programs and services will be provided at CMHA’s drop-in location at Emerald on Third. Support services include housing outreach, employment skills, counselling and life-skills supports. These services will be primarily aimed at women and their children and will support women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

“An emergency shelter for women in Kamloops is a fundamental part of building a healthy community,” said City of Kamloops Mayor Terry Lake. “I know this shelter will help many women in our Kamloops community find their paths to a better life.”

The Province has committed to creating more than 4,000 new housing units under the Provincial Homelessness Initiative. The Province’s budget for shelters and affordable housing is more than $400 million – more than three times what it was in 2001.

-30-
BACKGROUNDER
EMERALD HOUSE

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA)-Kamloops’ Emerald House provides eight emergency shelter beds for women and their children who are homeless in Kamloops.

Emerald House underwent interior renovations and fire and life safety upgrades before opening. The two-storey shelter consists of four bedrooms with two beds in each bedroom, kitchen, living room and two bathrooms. The shelter will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week with staff on duty at all times. Administration and support programs and services will be offered at CMHA-Kamloops’ Emerald on Third drop-in location.

Emerald House was created to replace eight shelter beds previously operated at New Life Mission Society’s House of Ruth in Kamloops.

FUNDING:

THE CANADIAN MENTAL HEALTH ASSOCIATION – KAMLOOPS

Established in 1982, the CMHA-Kamloops branch is one of 23 in British Columbia. CMHA’s mission is to promote the mental health of British Columbians and support the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental health issues. CMHA accomplishes this mission through advocacy, education, research and service.

-30-

Media contacts:
Rhonda Nguyen
BC Housing
604 439-4740
604 374-8301

Doug Sage
Executive Director
Canadian Mental Health Association - Kamloops
250 374-0440