A temporary winter shelter has opened in Maple Ridge.
The shelter will provide 30 beds to those who need a dry, warm place to stay at night over the winter months until Wednesday, April 30 – regardless of the temperature outside.
On its first night in operation, Tuesday, Oct. 1, the shelter housed 17 vulnerable members of the community, said Amelia Norrie with the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries, the agency that operates the shelter in partnership with Ridge Church and BC Housing.
The shelter will welcome people of all genders, including their pets, carts, and bicycles, and will open at 9 p.m. every night.
Those staying the night will get a hot meal in the evening hours, and then breakfast in the morning before they depart at 7a.m..
It can be accessed through the south door of Ridge Church.
“Every year we see more people needing shelter, and we’re excited that BC Housing has partnered with us to provide these beds for the next seven months,” said the Salvation Army’s executive director David Macpherson.
“Working together with Ridge Church and the City of Maple Ridge, we will continue to address the most pressing needs of our community," he added.
The inaugural temporary winter shelter opened last year. Before that, the community had an extreme weather shelter which only opened when temperatures reached certain thresholds – whether extreme hot or extreme cold.
Any people needing relief during the daytime hours will be able to go to the Salvation Army’s warming centre where they can get lunch and dinner and have access to showers and laundry.
The Salvation Army Ridge Meadows is a multi-function facility focused on providing the essential needs of food, shelter, and support to the residents of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.
An international Christian organization, the Salvation Army began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in 400 communities across Canada and more than 120 countries around the world.
Last year the Salvation Army Ridge Meadows provided:
• 27,061 daily school lunches to over 250 students;
• 393 individuals with Christmas gifts;
• 278 families with baby and toddler essentials;
• more than 400 students with back-to-school supplies;
• 467 emergency food hampers;
• 40 vulnerable children a week at summer camp at Camp Sunrise on the Sunshine Coast;
• 70,597 meals to families, seniors, and individuals in our Community Meal Program;
• and help to 27 individuals to find treatment/detox.
For more information go to: https://ridgemeadowssa.ca/.
