A women-only, emergency shelter will open at 329 Powell St. in Vancouver beginning Monday, Nov. 28, 2011.

Operated by St. James Community Services, the new 26-bed low-barrier shelter will provide additional safe, secure space for women in the downtown eastside community. The shelter will be open 24/7 and provide meals as well as access to support services. The location is an interim space to address immediate needs until a more permanent location can be identified.

St James Community Services has been serving the community for 50 years and is an experienced provider of shelter services to women. SJCSS currently operates Powell Place in the Downtown Eastside and the St. Elizabeth Home in Mount Pleasant.

Quotes:

Jonathon Oldman, executive director, St James Community Services Society -

"We're very pleased to be able to offer 26 additional women's shelter beds this winter while we finalize plans for the renovation of our Powell Place shelter to double its permanent capacity."

Quick Facts:

This new shelter funding is in addition to the more than $230,000 being provided to the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre shelter at the Life Skills Centre to extend its hours from 11 p.m. - 8 a.m. daily, to 6 p.m. - 10 a.m. Monday-Friday and 24/7 on weekends.

The 12-bed Bridge shelter, run by the Atira Women's Resource Society, is open 24/7.

There are also a number of women-only permanent housing buildings in the Downtown Eastside, such as:

• The Vivian with 24 units, operated by RainCity Housing.
• The Rice Block with 42 units.
• The Sorella building with 108-units operated by Atira.

Learn more about Emergency Shelters and Services for the Homeless in Vancouver at: http://www.housing.gov.bc.ca/info/fs/FS_ShelterServicesVancouver.pdf

Contact:

Fergus McCann
BC Housing
778 452-6445