The old saying "Where there's a will, there's a way" has proven accurate when it comes to housing the homeless in the Tri-Cities.
Volunteers, affordable housing advocates, church-goers, business people and local politicians have once again proven that this is a community that cares.
A few months ago, it didn't look that way. A few months ago, it looked as if there would be no shelter this winter for people who are homeless.
Now, thanks to co-operation between various churches, city officials and the Hope for Freedom Society, the temporary shelter program has been revived and there will be a warm, dry place for people to stay as winter approaches.
There will even be a bus to pick up people, thanks to Coquitlam Coun. Brent Asmundson, the business community, TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company.
In fact, the first temporary shelter is already running at Calvary Baptist Church and Coquitlam Alliance Church will take over Dec. 1. The way it will work now is that three churches in Coquitlam will take turns hosting the shelter for a month each and, in Port Moody, the paperwork is also done so St. Andrew's United can host the program for a month early next year.
All that's needed now is for Port Coquitlam to step up, and that is now looking like a real possibility, as well.
That's good news compared to just a few months ago when the situation was looking particularly dire. PoCo council had turned down a temporary use permit for a temporary shelter at Grace Church and it looked like the entire federally funded bridge shelter program was about to collapse.
Now, the program is working again, although some issues remain. There are still concerns that fewer homeless people will take advantage of the program this year compared to last because there is nowhere for them to store their belongings.
But through the continued support of the community, surely those hurdles can be overcome so no one has to suffer in the cold.
