If you build it, they will come.
It's a cliche but it appears to be true at the Tri-Cities' new homeless shelter which was full as soon as it opened.
As many as 65 people stayed at the shelter at 3030 Gordon Avenue in Coquitlam when temperatures dropped below zero in recent weeks. With warmer nights, the population this past month stabilized to about 40 people a night, still slightly over capacity according to RainCity Housing Society manager Adam Prytuluk.
And, in a surprising development, about half are women.
"They were part of what's considered the hidden homeless," said Prytuluk, who said that only a few women ever turned up to stay each night at the former Bridge shelter operating out of local churches — now 20 show up each night.
The appeal of a bed at 3030 Gordon Avenue could be the relative safety and security: dorm areas are locked, there are security cameras and rooms are private.
But the appearance of women also proves there has always been a need for safe, secure temporary housing.
For Deborah, who didn't want her last name used for safety reasons, the shelter has been a godsend, opening up just when she needed to leave her circumstances. Despite all the publicity, she hadn't heard about the shelter's existence until she called 211, a telephone resource for social services run by United Way.
The resource worker at 211 recommended the Coquitlam shelter and Deborah moved in immediately, and has been living there for three weeks.
So far the experience, her first time at a shelter, has been positive.
"It's better than the Hyatt," Deborah joked, as she chummed around with friends in the reception area while waiting for the cafeteria-style dinner to be served. "The staff and management let you do your own thing but they keep an eye out."
NEW SHELTER SAFER FOR WOMEN
One of the advantages of living at the shelter is the small community that forms, with people getting to know each other, and a staff that is alert when regulars don't show up.
In fact, while people lined up for a meal of pizza, salad and chocolate ice cream, attendance was recorded and Prytuluk said keeping track of people and reporting anyone missing after three days is shelter policy since B.C.'s Missing Women Commission of Inquiry, led by Wally Oppal after the conviction of serial killer Robert Pickton (a former Port Coquitlam resident).
Star, who also goes by the name Susan, and has lived in the rough in Coquitlam, including in the woods at the site of the newly built shelter, is also an enthusiastic supporter of the shelter and is pleased to see it so well used. "It's an open door, it's good," said Star, who was getting ready to take her bottles to the depot for cash.
Other residents said they, too, liked the shelter but there was some grumbling about 3 a.m. bed checks, until Prytuluk explained it's to ensure their safety. He personally has saved the life of one person who nearly choked to death and had to deal with two people who had died in the night in other shelters, and the bed checks are for making sure everyone is OK.
A PLACE TO GET BACK ON ONE'S FEET
Doug, a painter by trade, said the shelter has been a place of relative calm and safety as he looks for work and tries to get his life together.
"It's good enough for me until I get back on my feet," said the Port Moody man.
There are few rules — no open drug and alcohol use and no room guests, are among the most important — and residents are expected to treat one another and staff respectfully. Tennant meetings are held to deal with issues and occasionally, when someone gets carried away, they are asked go outside for an hour break or to their room to cool off, but for the most part the facility has operated smoothly. Police have only made a few appearances, Prytuluk said, and there have been no complaints, likely because concerns are dealt with in a community advisory committee that meets regularly.
"You really can go to your room and relax, that's the beauty of this kind of set up," Prytuluk said, and for the most part residents know each other, many of them are long-time Tri-City residents, with family or work connections in the area. "They are an easy group to work with."
In February, many of the shelter residents will move into transition housing for longer stays, while they prepare for more permanent housing, so there will be more room.
The community, meanwhile, continues to come forward to make sure people living at 3030 Gordon have opportunities for recreation, work and socializing.
Community barbecues hosted by local groups are expected to take place when the weather improves, books are being collected for a library and a computer work station is being set up.
Sean Spear, associate director for RainCity, said in fact, the community has welcomed the shelter, bringing in donations and volunteering in the kitchen. "Usually, the stories you hear are about resistance," but Spear said RainCity's experience is of community support and the Tri-Cities community is "definitely a strong one. The amount of donations has been fantastic."
With the arrival of women, and more working people, more donations are needed, and Spear and Prytuluk are putting out a call for the following items:
WHAT'S NEEDED
• steel-toed boots
• work gear, including gloves and vests
• new underwear, for both men and women, bras for women are especially needed
For the transition housing for longer stays that opened Monday, Feb. 1, the following supplies are needed:
• coffee makers, tea kettles and small radios.
For more information about the shelter and transition housing at 3030 Gordon Avenue in Coquitlam, visit www.raincityhousing.org
