Homeless flocking to Langley
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Updated: December 15, 2009 2:39 PM
People have been coming from Hope, Chilliwack and other eastern communities, looking for a way to get to the Gateway of Hope, said Sara Classen, staff member at Timms Community Centre in Langley City.
“People are clamoring for the new shelter. We had seven men come in last night,” said Classen about the response last Wednesday night.
With most of the homeless people the centre helps, people are usually looking to head east, not west, she said.
As a front desk worker, Classen said the Timms Centre attracts a ‘microcosm of inner city people,’ including many homeless whom staff try to help by directing them to the right resources or calling shelters themselves.
For a couple of years, the centre was offering homeless people bus tickets to get to the nearest extreme weather shelter but stopped the practice two years ago.
One of the reasons was people were selling the bus tickets for cash.
However, the Salvation Army was still letting people know that is they could get the tickets to get to the shelter at Timms.
That confusion has since been cleared up, said Classen.
In the meantime, the Gateway of Hope has been steadily taking in around 15 people per night.
Despite the bone-chilling weather, many of the homeless in the City are choosing the outdoors instead.
But unless it is a life and limb situation, the Langley RCMP will not force people to take shelter, even if there is new legislation to allow them to.
“The direction we are taking is we will offer to get them there, we will encourage them to go, but we will not be forcing people,” said new Supt. Derek Cooke, who was in front of Township council on Monday for the police quarterly report.
