AFTER Coquitlam City Council approval was granted, in a 7 – 2 vote December 10, several churches were all set to provide a temporary program for the homeless.

Coquitlam Alliance, Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship, Calvary Baptist, Northside Foursquare and Port Moody’s St. Andrew’s United Church are now part of the ‘Cold Wet Weather Mat Program.’  

Hope For Freedom Society (HFF) asked Tri-City councils to rezone churches to approve the program, which would allow for 30 beds per night at the churches on a rotating basis, seven days a week until March.

Some strict conditions are being imposed, to help address concerns raised by some of the churches’ neighbours.

They will pick up homeless people in two 15-seat vans at ‘muster points’ at 9:30 pm throughout the Tri-Cities, and take them to one of the five participating churches. In the morning, they will return them. The purpose is to avoid gatherings of people outside the churches.

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Walk-in requests will not be accommodated, but will be referred to PoCo’s Trinity United Church – which is offering extreme-weather  emergency shelter.

Guests are required to be accompanied outside the church by workers, no more than one at a time. If these and other conditions are not met, the shelter program can be stopped immediately.

Hope For Freedom director Rob Thiessen, spoke to BCCN.

“At the first public hearing, 300 people turned up, about 50/50 for and against – and 85 spoke!”

Although the council has approved the church shelters, he is concerned that federal government funding was approved for a two-year span.

Although pleased with the approval, he added: “I am frustrated. Does the council want to go through this all over again next year?”

HFF commenced the program December 31.

Contact:  hopeforfreedom.org                              – Peter Biggs

January 2008