The Comox Valley Regional District board has approved a $75,000 allocation from the Homelessness Supports Service to the Comox Valley Transition Society to renovate the building at 685 Cliffe Ave. to enable the creation of a 33-bed emergency shelter. The building, owned by the City of Courtenay, houses the Connect Warming Centre.
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Alana Mullaly, the CVRD’s general manager of planning and development, said the society, in conjunction with the city, successfully applied to BC Housing for approval for an emergency shelter.
“CVTS has been working closely with the city staff to identify what are the improvements required in order to enable this use, and have arrived at a dollar amount of approximately $75,000 to undertake the renovations,” Mullaly said at the inaugural meeting of the newly elected board Tuesday, Nov. 15.
The city has extended the lease with the CVTS for the Connect facility. Renovations are underway. They include fire safety/security installation, and interior access modifications. Bunk beds, mattresses and sleeping mats are also required.
Planned shelter hours are 7 p.m. to 8 a.m., seven days a week, from Nov. 1 to March 31.
The Connect day program will remain open from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. In September, Connect had 1,756 visits, an average of 65 per day.
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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