New Coquitlam homeless shelter already full

Coquitlam's first permanent homeless shelter is already full, only a week after the facility opened following almost a decade of planning.

"It's been amazing to finally open up,"saidSean Spear,associate director withRainCityHousing, which was chosen to operate the facility.

"It was a long fight to get that shelter, so to see it open and have people come in right away it's a really excellent resource."

The new facility at 3030 Gordon Avenue, which opened last Tuesday, includes 30 homeless shelter suitesand 30 transitional housing apartments.Pets are welcome and three meals a day are provided.

The shelter spaces are already full, while the housing apartments will be filled over the next two months in partnership with B.C. Housing. Thirtyextreme weather response beds will also be made available starting in January 2016,.

Strong community of volunteers

Spear said it was unfortunate the shelter had taken so long to open.

"It took a lot of political will to get the zoning through originallyand to get all of the right pieces in place, and then the money, and of course the build ... unfortunately, it does take a long time.

"There's a lot of ideas out there that get worked on for years and never happen. But this one ... there was a very strong community inCoquitlam,with a volunteer base and existing efforts on homelessness."

And now the shelter is finally open, he says thestrong sense ofcommunity is shining through even more.

"We've had donations coming in all day, the last couple of days. People are donating wrapped presents, other gifts, food and clothing," said Spear.

"We really appreciate the support from the community and the donations that are coming in. We're really happy to be finally open."