Merritt working on housing plan as they await details from BC Housing on a new shelter

The shelter in Merritt, which was run in partnership by BC Housing, and the Nicola Valley Shelter Society has been forced to permanently closes the doors to the old Desert Inn. With the latest count from BC Housing showing 67 homeless people in the Merritt area, it’s added another hurdle for the city’s new housing director.

“There is some supportive housing in the community for individuals whom are experiencing homelessness or just coming out of homelessness that have been housed. we are looking at other options as well in the community for that affordable, attainable, sustainable option,” said Merritt’s Director of Housing Holly Ferris.

“The Province and BC Housing strive to ensure all our buildings provide a safe and healthy environment for residents and staff. Due to deteriorating building conditions at the privately owned Desert Inn temporary shelter, BC Housing – in partnership with the operator, Nicola Valley Shelter and Support Society – has made the decision to close the shelter. As BC Housing is not the owner of the property, it is not in a position to invest in required repairs,” reads a emailed response. “BC Housing has been working quickly to find an alternate shelter location. It is progressing on this search and will share updates soon once an alternate site is confirmed.”

With the future of the shelter out of their hands at the municipal level, Merritt staff have been working on what does fall into their jurisdiction, supplementing the entire housing continuum.

Of those homeless in Merritt, 19 per cent stated that the 2021 flood is the reason, with the city confirming they are yet to return to pre-flood housing levels.

“Our next steps are to complete a post flood recovery housing action plan with initiatives coming out of that to tell us what kind of housing we need in the community,” added Ferris.

Ferris is working to build the Merritt housing strategy from scratch, noting that it’s not as simple as grabbing another municipality’s idea.

“Making sure that all the different community organizations are included and the demographics. And that we are looking at people as individuals and that we are understanding the needs within the community and not just out of a box because a different community did this that it is going to work here.”

The Nicola Valley Shelter Society declined to comment directly on the story, directing questions to BC Housing.

The city did confirm their winter extreme weather shelter would be operational when temperatures drop.