The head of the Mustard Seed says the emergency shelter has been almost completely full since he started.

Interim managing director Kelly Thomson says with colder winter weather just arriving, he suspects, if anything, that demand will go up.

“Right now, our program is 20 mats, and at this point we’re running 19-to-20 mats every night, and have been for the last three weeks that I’ve been here. And I’ve been told that’s been going on for quite a while. So the mats are definitely used and needed for sure.”

The Mustard Seed usually has 30 mats in its shelter but has had to remove some because of COVID-19. Its overnight shelter is open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m., and the day-use space has just been expanded to seven days a week as of last weekend.

With that, a 50-bed overflow shelter is now open at the Kamloops Curling Club, and will be until March 31 of next year.