People who are homeless or at risk of homelessness will soon have increased access to services, shelter spaces and housing options in Maple Ridge.

Students in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District are connecting with skills and technology training development thanks to a $17,500 grant to the district from the Province’s Shoulder Tappers Program.

The B.C. government is funding 15 extreme weather shelter spaces in Maple Ridge this winter to help people whose health and safety may be threatened by cold, wet weather.

Students, teachers and staff at Maple Ridge Secondary school in the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows school district will benefit from $300,000 in provincial School Enhancement Program funding.

Families in the Maple Ridge – Pitt Meadows school district will no longer pay fees for eligible bus riders thanks to $185,990 in funding under the new provincial Student Transportation Fund.

The borrowing rates of high-cost, short-term cash loans – payday loans – will be lowered under regulations coming into effect Jan. 1, 2017.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is starting design work on an upcoming safety improvement project in Maple Ridge, to install median barrier on a 6.6-kilometre section of Highway 7, stretching from 240th to 272nd streets.

The B.C. government recognizes the need for a long-term low barrier shelter and housing facility in the City of Maple Ridge and will provide approximately $15 million in capital and operating funding for a permanent facility once an appropriate location is determined.

The B.C. government is providing $270,000 to allow the 40-bed temporary shelter in Maple Ridge to remain open until the end of June 2016.