A new temporary shelter will open its doors next week in Regina.
The 40-bed shelter called the Gathering Place’s New Beginnings Centre will be operated by RT/SIS, with the Nest providing the space at the former downtown YMCA building, which the health centre now owns and is in the process of renovating.
Erica Beaudin, the executive director of RT/SIS, said she is excited to see the shelter finally being able to open its doors after five months of searching for a location.
“Really overwhelmed,” she said. “Overwhelmed with gratitude that we will be opening on Monday and be able to provide a service that is so desperately needed.”
Beaudin said the new shelter is ‘quite the upgrade’ compared to the last temporary shelter.
“The one big challenge that we had was truly space and outreach,” she said. “We had the ability to cover the basic needs of shelter and food, but that’s just a start. While we were able to help stabilize what we weren’t able to do unless we went, off-site was a lot of those outreach services that really make a difference in people moving forward.”
She said that they can now provide more than just the basics of food and shelter.
“By having this site for this year, we have the space to have privacy for people to work with case workers or elders, spiritual people, cultural people, addition workers, mental health workers.”
The site for the project will be shared between the City and the Ministry of Social Services. The City is set to contribute $500,000 that will be spent on the four-month lease, renovations and utilities for the shelter, while the Ministry contributes $400,000 for operational costs.
Beaudin added that the shelter would run 24/7 until it is decommissioned in April.
Mayor Sandra Masters said that the City is looking to have a permanent shelter secured by August or September, pending money from the federal government.
