A long-running Charlottetown emergency shelter for homeless men will re-open next month under new management and with a fresh look.
The Salvation Army hopes to open the facility Dec. 14.
Capt. Jamie Locke says the initial goal to open in mid-November was not possible due to renovations and the hiring process taking longer than anticipated.
Locke says the shelter is being brought up to code for safety and health standards.
The facility will be able to house up to seven men a night. If the Salvation Army determines the number of beds does not meet demand, the organization will consider expansion.
Locke expects the shelter to be operating on a “relatively full capacity’’ during the winter months.
He says clients of the shelter will be encouraged to access other Salvation Army services as well as be given referrals to other community services.
Locke and his wife, Elaine, who is also a captain with the Salvation Army, will take care of the administration of the shelter.
The Salvation Army is looking to fill four positions: two full-time residential workers and two part-time residential workers. Those interested in inquiring about a position can call Locke at 892-2281.
A $200,000 donation from a local businessman allowed the Salvation Army to take over operation of the homeless shelter. A man asking to remain anonymous donated $100,000 to cover initial startup costs and has promised a further $100,000 to help ensure the long-term stability of the service.
Bedford MacDonald House has had a rocky ride since its conception in the late 1980s.
Finding a place to put the shelter was a struggle with a prevailing not-in-my-backyard opposition hampering efforts. Lack of funds also resulted in the shelter being shut down in 1997. The shelter reopened in May 2004 in its current location on Weymouth Street.
The board closed the facility in 2011 after an employee at the shelter was charged with sexually assaulting a homeless man at the shelter.
A number of churches formed an ad hoc working group to work alongside the Bedford MacDonald board to reopen the shelter in late December 2011 but the facility was closed again at the end of September.
The facility will now be known as the Salvation Army Bedford MacDonald House.
Locke says the Salvation Army will also explore how it may help offset the fallout of Grandmother’s House closing in late April in Charlottetown after the facility housed women with no home for the past seven years. The organization, he adds, is not in a position to take a lead role.
