The Ksan Society has re-opened the shelter portion of its Hall St. housing complex on the Southside during the day after finding enough employees to staff the facility.
The society had restricted the shelter portion of its complex to night only use, closing from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, at the end of September because of a staffing shortage.
Lisa Schmidt, Ksan’s counselling and support programs director, said the society had been experiencing staffing challenges since the start of the pandemic.
“This affects the safety of staff and clients when we have too many folks inside the shelter and insufficient staff to support them,” she said at the time of the closure decision.
“The complex challenges that folks experience make working short-staffed too difficult.”
The Hall St. complex has space for 21 regular shelter beds, a number that can rise to 27 if needed. And that number could rise again if necessary, said Schmidt.
“There could potentially be more than 27, if needed. Occupancy changes as staffing levels change. We will accommodate as many folks as we can safely, considering the staffing levels and the weather,” she said.
In the meantime, interior renovation work has started at the new location for Ksan’s other shelter called Turning Points.
This shelter is now located on Lakelse Ave. in the downtown core but, citing the need for a larger space, the society bought the former Elks Hall on Tetrault St. across from the new Mills Memorial Hospital this past summer.
Ksan officials were not immediately available to speak about an occupancy date for the new location but in addition to interior work, 16 wooden platforms for tents, surrounded by a fence, have also been built.
That follows an outline of how Ksan will use the location as presented to Terrace city council this summer.
City officials were asked this week if its bylaw officers will encourage people now at the tent encampment at the former Terrace Co-op site on Greig Ave. to move to the new Turning Points location when its ready.
But they said they had no immediate information on the intended use of the construction.
“The city continues to work in collaboration with outreach staff and shelter providers across community-based organizations to attach people to shelter and housing as available to them,” said assistant city manager Maggie Hall.