Emergency beds were open on the weekend at the Coquitlam homeless shelter and 15 people took the opportunity to stay dry as wind and rain from intense storms battered the region.
Sandy Burpee, who is responsible for setting in motion the extreme weather response based at the shelter at 3030 Gordon Ave. on predictions of cold or wind, said the beds opened two weeks earlier than usual because of the storm.
"This was very unusual timing," said Burpee, noting the early call was obviously necessary because one woman and 14 men arrived to sleep in one of the 30 available dorm beds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Still, he said the numbers don't indicate the number of homeless in the region, a figure that won't be known until a homeless count takes place in the spring. As well, he said there there are people who choose not to come indoors.
But there are times when the shelter, which is run by RainCity Housing and Support Society, has to turn away people because its 30 individual rooms and 30 apartments for longer stays have been full since it opened last December.
The extreme weather response beds are in addition to the 30 rooms and 30 apartments but only operate temporarily.
Burpee said funding to hire staff for the emergency response program typically doesn't start until Nov. 1 and he said it's his job to monitor the weather and decide on whether to open the extra beds. Once the call is made, people are informed through word of mouth, by volunteers who work at the food banks, outreach workers and city bylaw officers.
