The Kelowna Gospel Mission says it is trying to support about 150 people sleeping rough amid a winter storm that has buried the city. Mission Executive Director Carmen Rebel says their communications team is out all day dropping off food and warm clothing. The mission is in the middle of a clothing drive at the moment and they are urgently looking for donations of tents, sleeping bags and warm clothes. “Our team will go and distribute them to those who need it the most,” Rebel said, adding that donations of bottled water are also needed. A new shelter opened last month in the old BC Tree Fruits packing house at the corner of Ellis Street and Bay Avenue. But while the shelter was meant to provide 60 new shelter beds, only 30 are open due to a lack of staff. Rebel says that since the snow began Friday, no deaths have been reported, but those out on the streets are at risk of hypothermia. “It’s a matter of life and death. You have people who are scared and we have people who are miserable out in the cold and so we see people hunting and not leaving their tents even to go out and get basic supplies and essentials. they’re accessing other services because they’re just running low and trying their best to keep warm.” Last week, a group of shelter providers in the Thompson-Okanagan, including the Kelowna Gospel Mission, called on the province to review the system of opening and closing temporary shelters each season, calling it a “disgustingly pointless proposal to be seen as a solution to humanitarian crisis we are facing”. Those interested in applying for a position or volunteering in the Gospel mission can click here. Donations are accepted at the Gospel Mission thrift store or at the Shelter on Leon Avenue.
