Kelowna rail trail resident frustrated over vacant warming tent

Tent sitting idle during day

A resident in Kelowna’s tent city is expressing frustration over a warming tent that has sat vacant during the day for the past four weeks.

John, who lives directly across from the tent, says that while the facility is utilized at night in recent days, it remains closed during the day, leaving it underused.

“There are people who would like to see it go up. They don’t want to see it just sitting there,” John said.

“It’s been here for four weeks, and all that happens is some of the wind and weather blows the tarp, making it look desolate.”

The warming tent, operated by the City of Kelowna and the Kelowna Gospel Mission, was announced on Dec. 4 as a temporary measure to provide shelter during extreme cold weather.

It is intended to help people during harsh winter temperatures, but its use has been limited to nighttime hours.

The warming tent operates between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. when the temperature falls between -10°C and -19°C.

It stays open 24 hours a day when temperatures drop to -20°C or lower. The tent was open on Feb. 3 and 4, with more than 50 users on the second night, according to Ali Westlund, city bylaw outdoor sheltering coordinator.

“It seems to be going really well,” Westlund said.

"It’s there for emergency purposes, and we always encourage individuals to use other shelter spaces when available.”

John says he has used the tent on both nights it was open.

''It's clearly too cold to be outside," he said.

The warming tent is staffed by two employees and one security guard during operational hours.

Westlund says that the funding for the tent is based on the temperature, with financial support from BC Housing and the City of Kelowna.

“During the day, we encourage people to go to Metro,” Westlund added. “There’s a bus that drops people off there once the tent closes.”

The warming tent will remain available until March 31.