Housing and Municipal Affairs
As of Nov. 1, 2026, the Province, through BC Housing, has 6,588 shelter spaces available for people in 63 communities throughout the province.
These include permanent and temporary year-round shelters, homeless encampment action response temporary housing (HEARTH) shelters, temporary winter shelters, and extreme weather response (EWR) shelters, which operate overnight when a community issues an extreme weather alert.
The total number of shelter spaces for each category:
- 4,270 permanent shelter spaces
- 291 temporary year-round shelter spaces
- 534 HEARTH shelter spaces
- 793 temporary winter shelter spaces
- 700 EWR shelter spaces
Shelters support people experiencing or at risk of homelessness by providing overnight shelter and include hot meals and access to support services.
Listed below are six of the larger communities in B.C. with shelters of various types operating in their communities. For a full list of shelters throughout B.C., visit the shelter map: https://smap.bchousing.org/
Shelter information, including the openings of EWR and other shelters, is updated daily during BC Housing operating hours as new shelters and EWR spaces are activated. Additional shelter spaces may open in the coming months.
For shelter bed availability, people are encouraged to reach out to their local shelter.
Vancouver
Total shelter spaces: 1,866
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Kloshe House Shelter, 1015 E. Hastings St., 79 spaces
- The Gathering Place, 609 Helmcken St., 34 spaces
- 1401 Hornby St., 52 spaces
- Metson, 1060 Howe St., 38 spaces
- Sisters Shelter, 131 Dunlevy Ave., 16 spaces
- Sisterhood, 342 Alexander St., 21 spaces
- 398 Powell St., 11 spaces
- WISH, 340 Alexander St., 23 spaces
- 265 E. Hastings St., 31 spaces
- Klahowya at Terminal, 875 Terminal Ave., 60 spaces
- The Haven, 108 E. Hastings St., 34 spaces
- The Beacon, 108 E. Hastings St., 66 spaces
- Crosswalk, 108 E. Hastings St., 36 spaces
- Lookout Walton Hotel, 261 Hastings St. E., 15 spaces
- The Lark, 103 Hastings St. E., 14 spaces
- Covenant House, 1280 Seymour St., 60 spaces
- Catholic Charities Men’s Hostel, 1056 Comox St., 108 spaces
- First United Church Shelter, 467 Alexander St., 51 spaces
- Lookout Yukon St. Shelter, 2088 Yukon St., 71 spaces
- Lookout Al Mitchell Shelter, 346 Alexander St., 46 spaces
- New Fountain Shelter, 356 E. Hastings St., 60 spaces
- Triage Emergency Shelter, 707 Powell St., 28 spaces
- Springhouse Shelter, 333 E. 16th Ave., 32 spaces
- Powell Place Emergency Shelter, 329 Powell St., 52 spaces
- Downtown Eastside Women’s Shelter, 412 E. Cordova St., 57 spaces
- Belkin House, 555 Homer St., 81 spaces
- Vi Fineday Family Shelter, 1906 15th Ave. W., 18 spaces
- Aboriginal Shelter, 201 Central St., 55 spaces
- Union Gospel (Heatley) Housing Society, 601 Hastings St. E., 82 spaces
- Osborn, 27 W. Hastings St., 80 spaces
HEARTH shelters:
- Klahowya at Terminal, 875 Terminal Ave., 40 spaces
Temporary winter shelters:
- Harbour Light, 119 E. Cordova St., 40 spaces
- Covenant House. 1302 Seymour St., 12 spaces
- Atira The Nest, 320 Alexander St., 20 spaces
- Union Gospel Mission, 601 E. Hastings St., 20 spaces
- Aboriginal Front Door Society shelter, 390 Main St., 34 spaces
- Lookout Housing and Health Society, 969 Burrard St., 21 spaces
Temporary shelters:
- Directions Youth Services Centre, 1138 Burrard St., 12 spaces
- Lookout Housing and Health Society, 1660 E. Hastings St., 70 spaces
- Evelyne Saller, 404 Alexander St., 42 spaces
Extreme weather response shelters (open only during EWR alerts):
- Lookout Marpole, 8585 Hudson St., 30 spaces
- Imouto House, 120 Jackson Ave., 4 spaces
- Atira, 450 E. Hastings St., 20 spaces
- Lookout Powell Street Getaway, 526 Powell St., 15 spaces
- Directions Youth Resource Centre, 1138 Burrard St., 10 spaces
- Atira and OPS, 141 E. Hastings St., 20 spaces
- Lookout Kiwassa, 2425 Oxford St., 20 spaces
- Belkin House, 555 Homer St., 25 spaces
Surrey
Total shelter spaces: 527
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Bill Reid Place, 17910 Colebrook Rd., 16 spaces
- Foxglove Shelter, 9810 Foxglove Dr., 27 spaces
- Lookout Gateway, 10667 135A St., 40 spaces
- Lookout Guildford, 14716 104 Ave., 46 spaces
- Lookout Parkway, 10667 135A St., 40 spaces
- Hyland House, 6595 King George Blvd., 45 spaces
- Rosewood Shelter, 9683 137 St., 60 spaces
- Surrey Urban Mission, 10776 King George Blvd., 40 spaces
- The Cove, 10607 King George Blvd., 42 spaces
- The Olive Branch, 10731 City Parkway, 45 spaces
Temporary winter shelters:
- Options Community Services Society, 5337 180 St., 25 spaces
Extreme weather response shelters (open only during EWR alerts):
- PCRS, 10453 Whalley Blvd., 8 spaces
- SUMS Place, 10776 King George Blvd., 10 spaces
- SUMs NightShift, 10635 King George Blvd., 16 spaces
- Shimai House, 13327 100A Ave., 6 spaces
- South Surrey, 14601 20 Ave., 45 spaces
- SUMS Olive Branch, 10731 City Parkway, 16 spaces
Victoria
Total shelter spaces: 473
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Douglas Community Shelter, 2915 Douglas St., 29 spaces
- 919 Pandora, 919 Pandora Ave., 34 spaces
- Out of the Rain Victoria, 1450 Elford St., 15 spaces
- My Place, 1240 Yates St., 54 spaces
- Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre, 525 Johnson St., 21 spaces
- Sandy Merriman House, 809 Burdett Ave., 25 spaces
- Next Steps, 2317 Dowler Place, 15 spaces
- Rock Bay Landing, 535 Ellice St., 84 spaces
HEARTH shelters:
- SOLID Shelter, 1611 Quadra St., 30 spaces
- Rock Bay Landing, 535 Ellice St., 30 spaces
- Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre, 525 Johnson St., 32 spaces
- My Place, 1240 Yates St., 20 spaces
- 919 Pandora, 919 Pandora Ave., 20 spaces
- Bridge Street Pathways Shelter, address redacted, 34 spaces
Extreme weather response shelters (open only during EWR alerts):
- Addictions and Rehabilitation Centre, 525 Johnson St., 30 spaces
Kamloops
Total shelter spaces: 326
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Emerald Centre, 259/271 Victoria St. W., 40 spaces
- Harbour Shelter (women only), 181 Victoria St. W., 12 spaces
- Merit Place, 715 Notre Dame Dr., 49 spaces
- Moira House, 600 Kingston Ave., 41 spaces
- Mustard Seed West End Shelter, 181 Victoria St. W., 30 spaces
- Solace Shelter, 1055 Glenfair Dr., 40 spaces
HEARTH shelters:
- Pathways, 142 Tranquille Rd., 44 spaces
Temporary shelters:
- Stuart Wood, 245 St. Paul St., 25 spaces
Temporary winter shelters:
- Olive Branch, 245 St. Paul St., 10 spaces
Extreme weather response shelters (open only during EWR alerts):
- Rosethorn House, 259 Victoria St. West, 10 spaces
- Emerald Centre, 271 Victoria St. West, 10 spaces
- Merit Place, 715/725 Notre Dame Dr., 15 spaces
Kelowna
Total shelter spaces: 323
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Kelowna Gospel Mission, 251 Leon Ave., 60 spaces
- Cornerstone Shelter, 425 Leon Ave., 80 spaces
- Richter Street Shelter, 1083 Richter St., 48 spaces
- Alexander Gardener Safe Centre, 2609 Richter St., 20 spaces
- AG Gordon, 1069 Gordon Dr., 20 spaces
Temporary shelters:
- Bay Avenue Shelter, 858 Ellis St., 60 spaces
Temporary winter shelters:
- Emergency Youth Shelter, 1633 Richter St., 5 spaces
- SS Kelowna, address redacted, 30 spaces
Prince George
Total shelter spaces: 151
Permanent year-round shelters:
- Bridget Moran Place, 1188 6th Ave., 45 spaces
- Ketso Yoh Centre Men's Hostel, 140 Quebec St., 36 spaces
- Second Ave Shelter, 1151 2nd Ave., 30 spaces
- 171 George St., 10 spaces
- 144 George St., 30 spaces
Learn More:
- For a map of all permanent, temporary and EWR shelters operating throughout communities in B.C., visit: https://smap.bchousing.org/
- For the most current information about Emergency Warming Centres opened in their area, people are encouraged to visit their local community website, X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook.
- During winter weather emergencies, visit: www.EmergencyInfoBC.ca and for information about how to stay safe, follow @EmergencyInfoBC on X.
- To learn more about cold weather resources available for local governments and First Nations, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/local-emergency-programs/establishing-an-emergency-program/coldweather
A backgrounder follows.
