In Cranbrook, where homelessness continues to affect residents, some service providers help fill the gaps - Action News
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British Columbia

In Cranbrook, where homelessness continues to affect residents, some service providers help fill the gaps

As B.C.'s housing crisis continues to impact people in Cranbrook, some service providers are working to help fill the gaps, preparing extreme weather shelters and connecting unhoused people with a doctor.

116 people identified as homeless in Cranbrook in 2023 through survey, about 83 per cent more than in 2020

A number of tents on a snowy slope, with debris around them.
An encampment in Cranbrook, B.C., is seen behind the Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Dec. 21. The East Kootenay city, about 85 kilometres west of the border with Alberta, does not have a permanent homeless shelter. (Corey Bullock/CBC)

As B.C.'s housing crisis continues to impact people in Cranbrook, some service providers are working to help fill the gaps, preparing extreme weather shelters and connecting unhoused people with a doctor.

"I'm feeling kind-of okay right now, it's been up and down. We lived on the hill behind the Travelodge for most of the summer," Kathleen Dupuis told CBC News.

Dupuis, who says she's been without a home for more than a decade, now staysat the Travelodge, atemporary homeless shelterset up by B.C.Housing in 2020.

It has 62 shelter rooms, including 17 operating nightly from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., according to the Crown agency. Of the 17 rooms, nine were recently added on Dec. 1.

According to B.C. Housing's 2023 Point-In-Count (PIC) Homeless Count, 116 people are experiencing homelessness in Cranbrook, compared to 63 in 2020 anincrease of about 84per cent.

The East Kootenay city, about 85 kilometres west of the border with Alberta,does not have a permanent homeless shelter, however B.C. Housing has purchased a space in the community where it plans to operate a full-time shelter next year.

"Renovations to convert the former fitness facility at 209 16th Ave. N. into a 40-bed shelter are expected to be completed by fall 2024. The Travelodge shelter will remain open until then," B.C. Housing said in an email to CBC News.

In the meantime, several agencies have teamed up to open anextreme weather response shelter, which will operate at night when a weather alert is in place,until mid-April.

A yellow church with the Anglican cross on it.
An emergency weather response shelter has been set up at the Christ Church Anglican in Cranbrook, B.C., for when cold weather hits. (Corey Bullock/CBC)

"It is simply an overnight lifesaving space for unhoused people to come and have a warm and safe space to be," said Marcel Germer, social development co-ordinator for the City of Cranbrook.

She says it would have been "ideal" to have a shelteropen 24/7 for the winter, but they "just couldn't come up with the right space."

Dupuis says she worries about her peers out in the cold.

"Lots of these people are elderly, or sick, or or addicted, which also puts you at a health risk," she said. "So I mean, it's not a healthy person being put outside all day."

Wellness sessions helpprovide care

Outreach organization ANKORS East Kootenay has started wellness sessions, including for unhoused people,that include time with a doctor.

"It's about access to care and it's about helping people who are unhoused, or who use drugs, get the care that they should get in Canada," said Dr. Ryck Schielke, a family doctor whosees as many patients as he can over an hour each Tuesday at ANKORS.

An older woman wearing a grey hoodie and a black woollen hat sits at a table.
Diana Shuttleworth is pictured at ANKORS in Cranbrook, B.C., on Tuesday, Dec. 19. Shuttleworth says being able to see a doctor is invaluable. (Corey Bullock/CBC)

Diana Shuttleworth, who has been homeless for the last year, saysbeing able to see a doctor is invaluable.

"Dr.Ryck really understands the homeless as we're not treated very well in society. As soon as they find out you're homeless, their attitudes towards you kind of cools. It's nice to talk to Dr. Ryck because he really gets, you know, the homelessness part of it."

Dupuis says she's seen improvements with her peers since the program started.

"[Most of my peers] will not go to a doctor, most of us will not enter the hospital herefor stigma reasons," she said.

"And they're now getting the health care they need. They're picking up the prescriptions for a wide range of health conditions, and they're taking their medication, and becoming more well by being able to come to a place that they're comfortable at."

A doctor with a stethoscope and wearing black scrubs smiles.
Dr. Ryck Schielke of the F.W. Green Clinic in Cranbrook, B.C., is pictured at ANKORS on Dec. 19. The family doctor sees as many patients as he can on Tuesdays. (Corey Bullock/CBC)

Polly Sutherland, harm reduction co-ordinator for ANKORS, says those wellness sessions are just one piece to a large puzzle and that stable housing, recovery and support are also needed.

"We know that once people are stabilized, that is where change can happen," she said. "And it's really hard to be stabilized when you're having to take your tent down each day."

In July, the City of Cranbrook enacted a no camping bylaw, prohibiting camping in certain areas of town and requiring people to take their tents and other temporary shelters down during the day in the warmer months.