Kamloops city staff will be meeting later this week with social agencies to find out what kind of gaps they have in their services.

That’s according to community and protective services director Byron McCorkell, who says those providers say they don’t have funding to meet demand.

“If this is the new norm, who’s doing what, and what is the city’s role, if any? And then we’ll be coming back if there’s anything we can provide that we’re not now, and then we would illustrate for you what the potential costs and implications of that might be,” McCorkell says.

“And I think ultimately, I’m going to be coming back to you with a request that we step up with the UBCM and we step up with the province, and whatever other tables we can pound, to say this isn’t working here and it probably isn’t working in other communities either.”

Mayor Ken Christian cautioned that the city step in when it’s the province who has the mandate and the money to offer social assistance.

Social services in the city were maxed out during last week’s extreme cold snap, and continue to see high usage into this week. Last week, the Out of the Cold winter shelter announced it would not be opening this year because it didn’t have a space to operate.