Samaritan House in Brandon is continuing to work to raise money to complete renovations to expand its Safe & Warm shelter.
Spokersperson Shannon Saltarelli says they hope to create “two sleeping rooms and an overflow to be able to expand the shelter to meet all of the needs of increasing our beds and have the proper spacing to meet COVID guidelines.”
She says when physical distancing guidelines were implemented in the spring, it forced the shelter to cut the number of beds from 25 to 13 and “the only way that we can increase more beds up to 22 right away, is to place the beds head to toe.” Saltarelli says that’s not ideal, but it’s better than having people out in the cold.
Samaritan House has already raised a third of the $900,000 cost of renovations, and a fundraising campaign to raise the rest is to begin in November.
Last year, the shelter accommodated 162 clients, and as of the end of September, they’ve housed 170 people thanks to funding from the province, the city and the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation which has allowed the shelter to remain open continuously until October 31st.
They’ve also teamed with the United Way who’ve helped install a new bathroom through the federal government’s Emergency Community Support Fund.
The Samaritan House Safe & Warm shelter is located on Pacific Avenue in Brandon.
