With the Merit Place Shelter at the former Greyhound Bus station slated to close this spring, the Mayor of Kamloops says it’s unlikely that people who use the facility will be simply turned out on the street.

Taking questions after an event with International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan, Reid Hamer-Jackson hinted that discussions on next steps for the shelter have already begun.

“I think there [are] things in the works. I think there [are] things in the works that have happened in closed [meetings] right now that I can’t discuss,” Hamer-Jackson said. “Let’s put it this way, I don’t think we’re going to be kicking however many people are in there onto the streets.”

Operated by the Kamloops branch of Canadian Mental Health Association, the Merit Place Shelter on Notre Dame Drive provides 50 beds for the city’s homeless. It was being run with a $1.9-million cash injection from the province and a tentative closing date in March 2023.

The shelter has been the subject of increased community concerns around crime, and tenants wandering into traffic.