People are beginning to use the new emergency shelter in Salmon Arm.

After four nights of operation, the Downtown Activity Centre gym had seen numbers vary each night.

Dawn Dunlop, executive director of Canadian Mental Health Association Shuswap-Revelstoke, said on Monday, Jan. 23, there were four people on the lowest night and eight on the highest.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going reasonably well. We鈥檝e got staff in place and security in place,鈥� she said.

Because the time for entering the shelter for the night is between 8 and 10 p.m., some people have come in but then left before the doors were shut. She said there is an agreement people must sign and some conditions.

The new temporary winter shelter features 20 cots set up in the DAC gym. The shelter closes at 6 a.m. to prevent cross-over with children coming to the daycare also housed in the DAC.

There is no access between the shelter and the rest of the building鈥檚 interior. People are permitted to go out to smoke but can鈥檛 leave and come back. Staff and security staff are overseeing the site.

People receive a hot meal when they arrive and a bagged breakfast when they leave.

Prior to the shelter opening, varying views on it were heard from people living rough.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, Jan. 21, the night the shelter opened, about half a dozen people were willing to share their opinions anonymously. The opinions ranged from enthusiasm to frustration.

One person said they would be going to the shelter if they could find a place to put their stuff. They expected other people would be using it as well.

Another person was glad to hear it was opening and said they would go there as it would probably be better than their tent.

One man was emphatic that he would probably never go to a shelter.

Another person said the hours in the new shelter are problematic.

鈥淭hey want us out at 6 a.m. as they have children there, which means they have to wake us up at 5. These guys ain鈥檛 morning people鈥� We had till 8 in the morning (at the sea can). That allowed us time.

鈥淎t first it was going to be 24 hours a day, all day, sit and be warm.鈥�

A couple of people said they were disappointed the shelter was opening after the cold snap and they鈥檇 heard rumours the lease was very expensive.

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One person expressed gratitude for the resident who brought in an insulated sea can and parked it near the tent encampment on 3rd Street SW during the cold snap.

鈥淚n there, it doesn鈥檛 matter what time of night, even if there鈥檚 no bunk you can sit in a chair and sleep. That is a good thing somebody was doing for the community out of their own pocket鈥� All the other homeless people I鈥檝e talked to, that is a good thing. What somebody did out of the kindness of their hearts and out of their own pocket.鈥�

They said some people need to collect cans during the night to earn money, so they need the freedom to come and go.

The sea can was removed by its owner on Jan. 20 after the shelter opened.

鈥淣ot only that, as soon as they open that (the shelter), they鈥檒l go bulldoze that camp. People who can鈥檛 stay in that shelter for whatever reasons, now they鈥檒l have to freeze and find another place to set up camp. And then they鈥檒l just bulldoze again. This is ridiculous.鈥�

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During a presentation to city council on Monday, Jan. 23 by the city鈥檚 manager of permits and licensing, Maurice Roy, he said bylaw enforcement staff are encouraging all campers to go to the shelter or move along.

He said a cleanup was scheduled for later in the week, Tuesday or Wednesday, so campers were going to be told to move along from their tent encampment across from the Salvation Army building.

Coun. Sylvia Lindgren asked if, with the shelter open and the camp being moved, there鈥檚 any provision for people to leave their belongings.

Mayor Alan Harrison said that would be a question for the chief administrative officer.

CAO Erin Jackson said there is room at the shelter for a backpack and a small amount of belongings, but storage is not being offered for tents and sleeping bags. She said more storage would be available in the new permanent shelter, once a site is determined.

Lindgren said she anticipates that will be a problem for people who don鈥檛 want to abandon their belongings.

The Caf茅 at Lighthouse, in the former home of the Salvation Army emergency shelter on 3rd Street SW, is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., providing a place where people can get warm, have something to eat, take a shower and do laundry.

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