Thursday, April 23, 2020

After weekend shift, Prince Rupert's Homeless shelter now open at Fisherman's Hall



The doors are now open to the city's most vulnerable residents at the Fisherman's Hall, that as the city's emergency homeless shelter made the move from it's previous location one block east of City Hall, to its new temporary location on Fraser Street.

The shift took place over the weekend, with the first night of operations for the new location taking place on Monday.

In a short note to their Social media page, North Coast Transition Society which operates the homeless shelter noted that as of Tuesday the facility is available for the homeless at 4:15 PM every day, with accommodation and services available on the upper floor of the facility.


The move brought an end to some frustrating times for the staff and management of the shelter who had been facing a string of challenges at the previous location, including some growing animosity at times from some in the public.

The announcement of the pending move to Fraser street was relayed last week, as both Mayor Lee Brain and MLA Jennifer Rice issued statements on the move, a temporary measure while work towards securing a more permanent facility continues.

As they made  the move, North Coast Transition Society issued a call for help for the facility offering employment opportunities and hailed the work of the MLA in recent months.

The search for proper accommodation for the most vulnerable of the region's residents has been of key focus for North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who has been working with many of the area stakeholders to find a permanent solution for the issue.

One that has been a long running theme for the community.

At the end of March, Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain who seemingly was also speaking on behalf of City Council informed city residents that all further attention towards homeless issues and a range of others should be directed to the door of the MLA.

That making for a commentary on civic issues that perhaps members of City Council may wish to share some thoughts on at some point; should they choose to make such topics a theme for public discussion.

The Mayor's talking points came as part of his response to the Provincial government's decision to suspend the City of Prince Rupert's declaration of a State of Local Emergency.

For more notes related to housing in the northwest see our archive page here.

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