'Won't turn anybody away'

Photo: Compass Court on Main Street, Penticton.

Several nights of double-digit below-zero temperatures have kept homeless shelters busy in Penticton.

"We've been basically full for both the winter shelter and Compass House, and we've had a bit of an overflow from the winter shelter," said Roger Evans, operator of the Compass shelters. "The demand for beds is fairly high, but we haven't had to turn anybody away, which is a good thing."

Compass Court, the winter shelter, has 29 beds and is located on Main Street. Compass House is a 16-bed facility located on Nanaimo Avenue with the capacity to add seven cots in times of extra need — such as a cold snap.

"We can't bring in more than seven cots because we're at full capacity here at Compass House," Evans said. "We won't turn anybody away though, they'll probably just have to sit on the couch and have a cup of coffee or something like that."

A record low temperature for Feb. 20 was reached overnight Monday, with the thermostat hitting -18.6 C, and Tuesday night was barely kinder with a low of -17.9 C.

In the face of bitter cold, Evans said the shelters' efforts were going well.

"We're getting them off the street, so I'm thankful for that."