Kelowna’s Gospel Mission is adding 10 new beds to its emergency shelter on Doyle Avenue within the next two weeks.
“Our outreach teams will be in our city seven days a week, handing out items to keep people warm such as blankets, sleeping bags, gloves, toques, warm coats, and Hot Paws hand warmers,” said the mission’s executive director Carmen Rempel.
The 10 new beds bring the Gospel Mission’s total capacity for people experiencing homelessness to 120 across its Leon Avenue and Doyle Avenue shelters.
“When people are living outside in freezing temperatures, it is a full-time job for them to try and get warm,” said outreach manager JoAnne McKenzie.
“When they are freezing, their brains stop working. They are consumed with trying just to stay alive. My heart goes out to anyone who has to try and live through a winter having no place to go.”
The Gospel Mission is looking for volunteers for its outreach teams. For more information, visit kelownagospelmission.ca.
READ MORE: Kelowna lowers flags to mark Indigenous Veterans Day
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