January 3, 2024
We’re very grateful to Powell River City Council for last night’s special meeting, where our application for a temporary use permit to operate an emergency weather response shelter at the Community Resource Centre was approved! We are very appreciative of the City’s and community’s support of this essential community service, and can now resume our operational planning to get this program up and running as quickly as we can.
We know there’s been a lot of questions about the shelter, security, and our application, and to help answer those questions we’ve put together some FAQ’s. If you have questions you don’t see answered here, please let us know at feedback[@]liftcommunityservices.org.
Thank you again for the support and solidarity we’ve received over the past few weeks. If you’d like to get involved as a volunteer to support this program please let us know! Email us at housingservices[@]liftcommunityservices.org.
What is an extreme weather response shelter?
The Extreme Weather Response Program is a provincially funded program that provides additional temporary overnight shelter spaces during periods of extreme winter weather that threatens the health and safety of individuals experiencing homelessness. The extreme weather response shelter will be open only when certain weather criteria have been met (e.g., low temperatures, high precipitation levels or high wind warnings). The program will be fully staffed and open from 8:00 pm – 8:00 am with 20 spaces, available on a first-come first-served basis.
Why did Lift need a temporary use permit?
Temporary Use Permits allow for the temporary use of commercial, industrial and civic zones for other uses. The permits can be issued for up to three years, though the one we applied for expires on April 15, 2024. At the City’s recommendation, we applied to house the extreme weather response shelter at our Community Resource Centre (CRC). Because the CRC is not zoned for shelter, we had to apply for a temporary use permit to be able to house individuals there overnight.
Was professional security a condition for this application?
When our application was initially brought forward to City Council, there was a condition put on it that Lift would need to provide overnight professional security services from 8:00 pm to 8:00 am. This condition was not part of our original application and was removed by the City in the subsequent motion for approval.
Conditions for approval were: that all fire and safety requirements were met to the satisfaction of Powell River Fire; and that our Good Neighbour Agreement in place at our emergency shelter be also applied to the proposed extreme weather shelter site. Both these conditions were met.
What is Lift’s position on security?
Lift supports professional community security. We believe that everyone has a right to feel safe in their home and in the community. We are not opposed to professional, community security services to maintain the safety and wellbeing of all community members. We look forward to continuing to work with the City of Powell River and BC Housing to find solutions to community security concerns related to existing shelter services.
Lift has money in its reserve funds. Why couldn’t you use that to pay for security?
Like most nonprofits, Lift is dependent on external funding sources, such as government and health authority funding and grants, for our operations and programming. Our revenue is restrictive in that most of the money we receive must be spent in a specific way, as required by our funders, and we budget accordingly. Any unexpected disruptions to our funding will negatively impact our ability to deliver our services in the community.
As with most non-profits, we have an operational reserve fund, intended to protect the people who depend on our programs for their health and well-being, and the livelihood of our 120 staff in the event of any funding interruptions. It may also be used for one-time expenses that will build long-term capacity such as an investment in infrastructure.
Best practice dictates that non-profits carry 3 – 12 months of their current operating expenditures as their surplus to offset any unexpected disruption to cash flows. Our Operational Reserve Policy aims to have at least 3 months of average operating costs set aside as our Operational Reserve. Click here to read the policy in full.
We are unable to use our Operating Reserve as a top-up for a program funding gap. This approach does not reflect the true cost of the programs we are contracted to deliver and is not sustainable if we are to fund other essential programs, or operate our organization.
Can BC Housing pay for security?
It is our understanding that BC Housing funds security on a case-by-case basis, depending on need in the community. BC Housing has expressed a willingness to discuss security needs related to the 24-hour emergency shelter adjacent to the extreme weather response shelter site, and we are currently trying to arrange a meeting between Lift, BC Housing, RCMP, and the City of Powell River to discuss possible community security solutions.
Do you have staffing for the extreme weather shelter?
Now that the temporary use permit has been approved, we are working as quickly as possible to finalize our funding for the program and ensure adequate staffing levels. We will be drawing from our existing trained casual support workers, and likely recruiting and training additional staff and volunteers.
When will the extreme weather response shelter open?
Now that the temporary use permit has been approved, we can pick up our work to secure funding and staffing to open the program. We will get this program up and running as soon as possible.
Is Lift a worker’s cooperative?
Lift is a registered BC non-profit society; it is not a “worker’s cooperative”. A worker’s cooperative, or worker’s co-op, is a business that is owned by the staff, or workers. This means that management and business decisions are made by the workers, and profits are shared between staff.
Lift is a registered BC non-profit society. We are overseen by an unpaid, volunteer board of directors made up of qathet Region community members. Our board oversees our organization’s mission, vision, and strategy. They provide oversight for our financial and legal accountability.
Like all registered societies we do have a membership. Anyone is welcome to become a member of our society, and doing so gives them a vote at our general meetings, where we elect our board of directors and determine our external financial auditors, for example. Some of our staff have chosen to become members of our society, which is permitted in accordance with the BC Societies Act.
Members do not have voting power over operational decisions related to programming, wages, or staffing – those decisions are made at a management level.
How do you maintain relationships with the current emergency shelter neighbours?
We have a Good Neighbour Agreement in place that all shelter guests must follow. While we try to keep individuals sheltered overnight as much as possible, we do restrict service to individuals who threaten the safety and wellbeing of other shelter guests, staff, or immediate neighbours.
Lift staff are in regular contact with the businesses immediately surrounding the shelter, and we respond to all community concerns we receive via our online feedback form, in-person or by email or phone. We empathize with the challenges that a shelter service can pose to the neighbourhood and want to work with our neighbours to find solutions that minimize the impact of homelessness on both the people accessing our services and our greater community.
How do you ensure safety at the existing emergency shelter?
Our existing emergency shelter is staffed 24 hours a day, with at least two trained support workers on shift at all times. We do regular sweeps of the outside area to for the safety and wellbeing of our shelter guests and neighbours. Our team works closely with local first responders, including the RCMP, and we don’t hesitate to call them if staff are worried for the safety and wellbeing of shelter guests or the public.
While we do everything we can to keep the shelter we operate safe, we are also aware that there are some people who don’t feel comfortable and safe there. This is the reality in a shared temporary shelter space where there is no privacy, and is particularly true for shelter guests who are young, people who identify as women, and participants with disabilities and seniors. We continue to advocate for more affordable, permanent housing options in the qathet Region so that everyone has access to safe housing.
Who should I contact with concerns related to your program sites?
If you have general feedback, questions, or concerns please let us know at our online feedback form: go.liftcommunityservices.org/feedback
If you are worried about unsafe or unlawful activity, please call the RCMP directly at 604-485-6522.