New homeless shelter opens

Photo: Colin Dacre

The site of the former Super 8 motel on Main Street in Penticton, now the Compass Court social housing and emergency shelter.

A new emergency shelter on Main Street in Penticton couldn't have opened at a much more opportune time.

Compass Court opened 27 shelter beds for the homeless on Wednesday, coincidently before Thursday's massive snowstorm across the Okanagan.

Less than 48 hours in, and manager Roger Evans said the shelter was about three-quarters full on Thursday night.

"Because of the number of homeless people on the street, I did expect to get busy quite quickly," Evans said.

"They were just happy to get in off the street because it was quite cold last night."

Evans also manages the Compass House on Nanaimo Avenue that has 16 shelter beds, where demand has been overwhelming.

With colder weather here to stay, he added that he doesn't think the vacancy at the new shelter will last.

"I expect we'll probably be running at capacity in the very near future."

The building was formerly a Super 8 motel, before it was purchased by B.C. Housing in the summer to be converted to social housing.

The 27-bed emergency shelter on site is run by the Salvation Army.

The building will also have 42 transitional housing units, ran by the Penticton and District Society for Community Living. That portion of the project is not yet completed.