The region’s emergency-warming shelter, located in the parking pot at the Ramada Inn close to the Silver Bridge this year, has been at full capacity during the recent snowstorm which saw temperatures plummet and more than 20 centimetres of snow dumped in the Cowichan region.
Ryan Wainwright, the senior manager of Emergency Management Cowichan, said that for several nights, the facility was at its full capacity of 30 people looking for shelter from the storm, and none were turned away.
He said that as of Feb. 5, the centre has been active 65 nights since it opened this season on Nov. 15. Last winter, the centre, which was situated in the Cowichan Community Centre, was open for 42 nights between Dec. 12 and March 31.
The emergency-warming shelter is activated when temperatures fall to 2 C or below, coupled with adverse weather conditions such as high wind, rain, or snow.
“We’ve had no major issues to date this season, and we are not aware of any complaints made to the police or bylaw officers,” Wainwright said. “We’ve certainly gained a lot of respect for the general contractors who have been so important in keeping the shelter up and running. There’s a lot of moving parts to the shelter’s operations, but everything has been going well.”
The large modular building that houses the shelter this year has 20 beds for those who need it between Nov. 15 and March 31 during harsh winter-weather conditions, but it has the capacity to expand to 30 beds if necessary if the required staff is available.
The shelter is operated by the Lookout Housing and Health Society, which is in its third year as the emergency-warming shelter operator in the Cowichan region. There is 24/7 security on site at the Ramada Inn location and additional outreach resources are being provided in the surrounding neighbourhood.
The Cowichan Valley Regional District stepped up in December, 2023, and designated the Heritage Hall in the Cowichan Community Centre as the place to support the unhoused population in the Cowichan region during extreme weather conditions for that season after efforts by local emergency organizations and local governments over the years to find a suitable location proved unsuccessful.
However, just weeks after the shelter was established at the centre, the CVRD announced it would look into the lease of another available space to house the shelter after receiving numerous complaints from CCC users and neighbours, and the district announced in the fall of 2024 that the CVRD’s board had approved a plan from Emergency Management Cowichan to lease the parking lot of the Ramada Inn for the service this year.
Wainwright said that while the operation is running smoothly so far this season, local emergency personnel hope that a more traditional shelter will be made available for next year.
“But that’s outside the scope of Emergency Management Cowichan,” he said.
