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QUESNEL – Renovations have begun at the Wheel Inn Motel, which is being converted into 20 units of transitional housing and shelter beds for the homeless and people at risk of becoming homeless in Quesnel.
The development is a partnership between the Province and the Quesnel Shelter & Support Society. Occupancy is expected in May 2008. The Province is providing a capital grant of up to $1.42 million under the Provincial Homelessness Initiative, and the Quesnel Shelter & Support Society will manage the shelter and transitional beds. The Society is applying for shelter bed funding for 10 of the beds while the remaining 10 will be transitional housing. The operational costs will be covered by tenant revenues and subsidies provided by the Province.
The Provincial Homelessness Initiative was launched as a result of the Premier’s Task Force on Homelessness, Mental Illness and Addictions in December 2004 and aims to help people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness move beyond temporary shelter to more secure housing, gain greater self-reliance, and achieve appropriate employment. The Province has committed to creating more than 4,000 new and upgraded supportive housing units under the initiative. Budget 2008 increased the amount the Province invests in affordable housing and shelters to more than $380 million a year, more than three times as much as in 2001.
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BC Housing 604 439-4757 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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