
A 62-unit supportive housing building on Tranquille Road, will begin moving in residents on Monday.
Spero House will be operated around the clock by the ASK Wellness Society. Their staff will provide meals, life and job skills training, as well as health and wellness supports to people experiencing homelessness.
Richard St. Goddard, who’s been homeless for nearly 13 years will be one of the first tenants moving in, and he says it means a lot having a place to call home.
“It’s the acceptance that really makes a difference. A lot of us are so undependable, that’s just how it is,” he said. “We all love, we all want to live and it’s incredible to feel the energy in this room today.”
“Just where I am within my own personal journey through addiction. I’m done with it, I’ve got 28 days clean and I’m going to look at continuing that through and get myself working.”
Mayor Ken Christian said residents at Spero House will have an address to call their own.
“You can’t get much done if you don’t have an address,” he said. “And then once you have an address you can start your journey to wellness and allowing people a future.”
“We believe in Kamloops that all of the citizens should have this right.”
The opening of the building was delayed by about five months.
As frustrating as that might have been, ASK Wellness Executive Director Bob Hughes says what makes Spero House unique, is they were able to design it to suit their needs.
“We have a kitchen that provides meals two times a day, we have a doctor’s office that was built into this,” he noted. “We have program space where we can do yoga, they are able to do some arts and crafts.”
“It isn’t just simply about housing, it’s about providing support services to people so that their timing here is spent being able to get well.”
‘Spero’ is Latin for hope, and the building features 58 supportive studio suites each with a bathroom and kitchenette. There are four other transitional suites for short term stays.
Eight of the suites are designed for people with disabilities, and there’s also a shared dining room, a harm-reduction space, laundry rooms and storage space.
Residents will pay $375 each month in rent which according to the government is the social assistance shelter allowance provided by the province to people experiencing homelessness.
The province put $11.4 million towards capital and construction costs towards the project.
The City of Kamloops provided the land, valued at $455,000 while the province will provide an annual operating subsidy of $984,000.
Spero House will be the largest building that the ASK Wellness Society operates.

Richard St. Goddard
A look inside at one of the rooms at Spero House.#kamloops @RadioNLNews pic.twitter.com/xaBF77M2Nv
— Victor Mario Kaisar (@supermario_47) March 29, 2019