Site found in Maple Ridge for Emergency Weather Response shelter

A site has been found for an Emergency Weather Response Shelter – but it needs staff in order to open.

Jesse Sokol with the Non-Judgmental Recovery Society explained Maple Ridge Alliance Church has stepped up to the plate this year to open their doors to the homeless when temperatures dip below the freezing mark.

Sokol said his society has partnered with the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries and the church to have up to 30 mats, but emphasized that they still need staff.

Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries executive director Dave Macpherson clarified that the Salvation Army has agreed to contract with BC Housing to provide EWR services.

“Provided we can recruit adequate staffing,” said Macpherson – which they don’t currently have.

The EWR shelter opens up when temperatures feel like they are at minus one, explained Macpherson. That could be two degrees with heavy winds, or if there is significant rain or snow accumulation.

So far this year, there have already been nights when an EWR shelter would have been open because of the conditions outside, but there was no service available.

Homeless advocate Chris Bosley is concerned about the lack of an emergency shelter in the community, especially after the first wave of cold weather this season. Last week she reached out to the new mayor of Maple Ridge Dan Ruimy who told her that he had reached out to both Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Bob D’Eith, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows MLA Lisa Beare, and City of Maple Ridge CAO Scott Hartman, and they were working together to solve the issue. Ruimy said it was an issue that had to be resolved.

“I think the fact that we don’t currently have an Emergency Weather Response shelter in place in our community is absolutely unacceptable. Why didn’t the executive director of the Salvation Army, Dave Macpherson, you know, get the wheels in motion to get this up and running in time for these sub-zero temperatures that we’ve been experiencing over the last few days?” Bosley asked.

“It just kills me when I drive down Lougheed Highway and I see people huddled in bus stops and under awnings and in doorways. This is just mind-boggling to me,” she said, adding that she finds it surprising that a Christian organization like the Salvation Army does not have connections in the local church community.

A job posting for a casual shelter worker went up on the Salvation Army website from Nov. 4-11 looking for people who will: “work within the mission, vision, and values of the Salvation Army and Ridge Meadows Ministries; show compassion, respect, and empathy; support the efforts of clients and co-workers; handle admission, orientation and evaluation of clients; perform internal and external security checks; and provide safe storage and recording of prescribed medications; among other responsibilities.” However, they did not fill the positions.

Macpherson said they require three workers per shift.

READ MORE: Homeless shelters in Maple Ridge not filling up in freezing temperatures

Ideally, Macpherson would like to hire 12 people because of the on-call nature of the work.

“When you are on-call, you really need four times as many names as you have positions, because not everyone can just drop everything at the last minute and come and work for you tonight,” he said.

Casual shelter workers would be hired by the Salvation Army, trained by the Salvation Army, and deployed through their regular staff at night

“Our partnership with the Alliance Church is for the location and our partnership with Non-Judgemental [Recovery Society] is in recruiting and all of that,” he said, adding that the Salvation Army will be the assigned operator of the facility and of the program.

Macpherson said they are recruiting hard, but although it’s an important job, it is also a difficult one and finding staff who can do the job and who want to do it is a “difficult thing”.

“It’s not easy work and it’s long hours and it’s overnight hours in bad weather,” noted Macpherson, adding that it is also valuable work that can be transformative work because you are giving back to the community.

ALSO: Ridge Meadows Salvation Army to bring back their Community Meal Program

And, he said, you get an opportunity to help people who really need help.

Sokol said his group found the space and the mats and will now be assisting the Salvation Army moving forward. He expressed frustration that nobody was willing to take on the shelter and said his group would have run the shelter themselves but for the fact that they could not get insured for the $5 million in liability that was needed to open the shelter because their organization is too small. They would not have been able to “float the payroll either,” said Sokol.

“It made sense to partner with someone that’s already done this before and someone that could pull off those two things,” he said.

Sokol said he cold-called all the churches in town trying to find a site, and two churches replied – Maple Ridge Alliance, where the shelter will now be located, and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, who was interested in helping with quilts, clothing, and food.

Sokol said they will be providing two to three staff members for the new Emergency Weather Shelter, but the need right now, he said, is for people to apply so they can open the shelter before the next cold spell.

Macpherson is very concerned they might not be able to recruit people on time.

He is encouraging anyone who would like to apply to drop a resume off at either the Salvation Army housing facility at 22188 Lougheed Highway, or the administration offices at 11948 227 Street.