A temporary supportive housing project in Kamloops could be kept in operation for the longer term.

The Branch houses 40 people on the North Shore and it’s supposed to close once two permanent housing units open up this spring and summer.

Executive director of the local CMHA branch Christa Mullaly says people who live there would be homeless if that happened.

“We know better than to turf people out into the street come April 1st because we’ve done it in previous years,” she says. “And I think that unfortunately, it still happens in some communities, and I think it’s a bit of an outdated model.”

The Branch opened in November and Mullaly says there have been “incredible changes” since then for some of the people it has housed.

“Given that we’ve got over 240 folks currently that have been assessed and are homeless waiting to be selected for any type of housing, I think that there is a real need for temporary housing or lots of other operations in fact because we’ve got a lot of folks in need.”

A 46-unit complex at 259 Victoria Street West is expected to open this summer, while a 62-unit at 317 Tranquille Road could open it’s doors next month.