Freezing temperatures and record-breaking snowfalls swept across B.C. this week, leaving many unhoused Lower Mainlanders out in the cold. Mayor Paul Horn of Mission B.C. said his city is prepared for extreme weather events, with vacant shelters, beds and more in development.
There are ten available beds at Haven in the Hollow, a shelter on Highway 7, “anytime the temperature, with the windchill included, feels like 0℃ or lower,” Horn said.
He noted that those spaces are not always filled.
“We’re also working to see if we can still expand those beds,” Horn said, “because we understand that some people may not want to utilize them, just because they don’t want to go to that particular facility.”
CIVL Radio interviewed Horn about how his government will address the root causes of homelessness and projects underway to improve living conditions in extreme weather.
