Approximately 300 homeless people have a warm, dry place to sleep each night after the City of Calgary and the Mustard Seed Street Ministry opened the doors to 107 16th Ave. NE as a temporary shelter earlier this week.

The shelter is part of the City’s Homeless Winter Response Plan, to provide refuge from the freezing temperatures during the winter months.

“We thank the Mustard Seed for stepping up as operator of the temporary emergency shelter and the interim emergency warming centre at the Grandstand building, and the Red Cross for assisting with the staffing of the latter site,” stated Chris Branch, director of Community and Neighbourhood Services with the City of Calgary.

The City will provide transit to and from the shelter each night for those needing a place to stay, and additional security measures, like cameras in the doorways and extra lighting was assembled this week.

“There were conditions attached to the development permit… and all those have been met,” Branch said.

He added that there is also a Safety Advisory Committee that will meet weekly to ensure the safety of the area, spawning from appeals from area residents about the possibility of the shelter affecting their safety.

“Some of the community was objecting at first, but after we addressed them, and by the time the SDAB (Subdivision Appeal Board) hearing actually happened they were no longer in opposition,” Branch said.

The development permit was approved Nov. 30.

“We are most pleased with the Board’s decision,” said Floyd Perras, chief operating officer with the Mustard Seed Street Ministry after the decision was made. “We can now be assured that Calgary’s homeless population of single men and women will be safely sheltered from the cold throughout the winter months.”

The building previously occupied by The Brick furniture store will get homeless out of the cold during the winter months and act as a temporary shelter until March 31, when it will be demolished as part of the widening of 16 Avenue North.

Calgary emergency shelters that house homeless single adults have been operating at well over capacity this winter.

To address the problem, the Mustard Seed opened up a temporary warming centre, and the City of Calgary provided transit buses overnight to provide additional shelter.

On Nov. 24 with frigid temperatures reaching below -15ºordm;C, and the homeless shelters at 95% or greater capacity, the City determined the need to open up additional emergency shelter space.

The Mustard Seed, the City and the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede partnered up to quickly set up the short-term emergency warming centre to house homeless single men and women at the Grandstand building in Stampede Park.

The shelter on 16th Avenue is funded in part by the City of Calgary and in part by the Province of Alberta.

On Oct. 25, the City announced it would pay to a maximum of $500,000 for the Homeless Winter Response Plan, with the expectation of being reimbursed by the Province.

Two days later, the Province announced they would kick in $1 million for the project.

Branch said while the shelter is good news for now, it is only for now, and while it isn’t the City’s mandate to deal with homelessness and affordable housing, the City will be trying to find a solution to the growing problem.

“Whether we’re officially mandated or not, the City is responding on the front lines of the issue,” he said.

And that includes advocating for more funding for affordable housing in the future.

As for the time being, the Mustard Seed is always looking for volunteers, for the temporary shelter as well as its other initiatives in the city.

To find out more visit www.theseed.ca

—Angela Anderson is a Calgary Real Estate News reporter.