Cranbrook Men's Shelter now open

The Refuge men's shelter in Cranbrook opened it's doors on Monday, Oct. 19 to homeless men in the area.

The shelter had been planned to be opened on Nov. 1, but with the recent snow, the Refuge was opened earlier.

"So far it's gone pretty well," said Sarah Marriott, community outreach co-ordinator for Kootenay Christian Fellowship. "As usual, we've had a slow start-up, because the weathers been nice but it's definitely picking up."

The Refuge is operated by Kootenay Christian Fellowship, and is located in their building at 131 - 7th Ave. S. The shelter is currently open from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. Starting next week, it will be open at 8 p.m. on Mondays and Tuesdays. The shelter offers a dry, safe place for homeless men to stay overnight.

The shelter received a nice injection of cash from the fundraising concert 'Gimme Shelter' which included several local bands including redGirl and 60 Hertz.

The concert, which was organzed by the bands themselves, raised almost $4,000 for the Refuge.

"It was such a huge help," said Marriott. "It's a huge encouragement."

With the shelter receiving no money from B.C. Housing, the cash infusion came at a great time.

"It's great when other people take the initiative," said Marriott. "We got no support from B.C. Housing and have been told we won't due to the financial downturn."

Steve Jones, bass player for redGirl, was one of the organizers and played at the event.

"It started off as a grassroots movement," he said. "A bunch of musicians saw a need with the lack of funding for the shelter and wanted to help. Every musician jumped on board right away."

All the production costs, which came to $1300 were covered by local businesses which gladly donated $100 each.

"It meant every penny at the door would go to the shelter," said Jones. "It was perfect timing with the weather getting cold. This will most likely become an annual event."

"It was an excellent concert," said an appreciative Marriott. "It was very well put together. The music was incredible. All the performers were local and excellent."

"More than the financial support is having the community support," said Marriott. "This is our community and homelessness is everyone's responsibility."

Marriott is working with other agencies in the region to try and find better solutions to the homeless situation.

"The shelter is just a bandaid solution. We are literally keeping people alive," said Marriott. "What we want is to see opportunities for people to get into low income housing. And for them to get support during the day."

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