Kelowna shelter closing its doors after provincial funding dries up

KELOWNA – One of Inn From the Cold’s housing programs will be closing its doors after provincial funding for the program ran out.

Chandler House, a shared home for eight men who have experienced chronic homelessness, will be closing at the end of June.

“We rely very, very heavily on donations,” Jan Schulz, Inn From the Cold executive director says. “We have a hugely generous population in Kelowna, but it’s very difficult to have prolonged programs and projects going when you can’t guarantee the money coming in.”

According to Schulz, Inn From the Cold entered a three-year funding agreement with the B.C. government in 2014. That agreement will be coming to an end as of March 31, 2017. The annual funding supporting Chandler House was $66,000.

She says they've been looking for over a year for a new location for the housing program.

“We’re hoping to find somewhere larger, somewhere where residents can have a home within a home, such as a motel, so we can continue to support them while they can also have their privacy," Schulz says.

Although the funding for the program will be ending tomorrow, Inn From the Cold has until June 30 to hand over the keys to the house, which gives the organization three more months to come up with a solution.

For the eight men who call Chandler House home, they are relying on the organization to find them a new place to live.

“We are already looking extensively trying to find new homes for them,” Schulz says. “If we’re not in a position to secure a new full building, they will be put in independent residents and supported in as many ways as we can.”

Find past stories on Inn From the Cold here.

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