More than eight months after the only year-round shelter on the lower Sunshine Coast closed due to extensive smoke and water damage, the Sechelt Shelter is scheduled to open its doors starting the week of Oct. 23.
Relocation to the repaired 5653 Wharf Avenue site will begin in stages, Mandy Hardwick, the associate director of RainCity Housing and Support Society, told Coast Reporter. During the week of Oct. 23, the 20 people who have been staying at the annex of St. Hilda’s Anglican Church will move back in. Then the next week, 15 beds will open downstairs with priority given to people staying in the encampment next to the shelter.
The building has gone through extensive renovations due to the water damage, Hardwick said, “so it will be a much nicer place for people to return to than when they left.”
Previously, the Sechelt Shelter was a hostel known as the Upper Deck Hostel and Guesthouse. Now the shelter includes space for meetings, Indigenous cultural programming and peer programming, as well as a kitchen, staff space and two living rooms. Meals and a variety of services are provided. It’s a “space for people to be and have some autonomy,” Hardwick added.
In an emailed statement, BC Housing said it is “thankful for the partnership with RainCity and the District of Sechelt to support the temporary shelter space at St. Hilda’s Church Annex at 5850 Barnacle Street (Annex), while remediation of the Sechelt Shelter was underway. The Annex is expected to close by the end of October, at which time BC Housing and RainCity will be referring people to Sechelt Shelter and supporting their move. The shelter will operate at full capacity, with early intake prioritizing those guests currently staying at St. Hilda’s Church Annex.”
“People are excited, definitely, as much as you can be excited to return to a shelter and not a home of your own,” Hardwick said.
In the early hours of Feb. 7, the Sechelt Volunteer Fire Department evacuated 34 people after a small fire triggered the building’s sprinkler system. Angelo’s Pizza downstairs also closed. The overdose prevention site, housed in the same building, went mobile.
It took just over two weeks of collaborative effort between BC Housing, RainCity, the District of Sechelt and Town of Gibsons for a temporary shelter to be found. On Feb. 23, St. Hilda’s Anglican Church opened the doors of its annex to provide space for 20 people, and more people were accommodated by the High Tide supportive housing, Gibsons supportive housing and the Gibsons cold weather shelter at St. Bartholomew’s Church.
Repairs began in mid-June. And then in July, the people sheltering at St. Hilda’s Anglican Church gave back by volunteering to refurbish the church’s outdoor labyrinth.
The Reverend Dr. Steve Black said hosting people in the annex was a positive experience and he’s glad they will be moving back to a space with more privacy.
“We were honoured to be able to help. It's wonderful to be part of the community and to do what we can to help,” Black said.
Now, just in time for the cold weather’s return, the shelter will be open again. “We’re going into the winter season,” Hardwick said. “These folks have been displaced since February, and we’re really grateful… the St. Hilda’s and BC Housing for creating a partnership for us.
“We’re just really, really looking forward to this next chapter here at the Sechelt Shelter,” they said. “There's been a huge push to get this out the door. So we're just happy we're here and we're moving forward.”
