Knox United Church has made a step toward filling a gap in Parksville — the lack of daytime spots for people affected by homelessness.
The church will be open on Thursdays from noon to 3:30 p.m., and will provide a warm place to go, as well as a light lunch.
It follows a temporary warming shelter that was opened in the area on the week of Jan. 13, amid snow and freezing temperatures.
However, people using the shelter pointed out that it’s not just during the snow that people need a place to go, it’s all year round, and especially in the rain.
READ MORE: Parksville-area man: ‘I can survive the cold, I can’t survive the wet… it gets pretty tough’
And rain is set to come down — as of now, Environment Canada is expecting rain in the region every day for a week.
Rev. Christine Muise, founding director of OHEART, which runs the cold weather shelter, said the organization is taking everything one day at a time, and expanding programming how they can. One of OHEART’s board members is involved in the warming centre at at Knox.
“Our longterm goal is in working on more permanent solutions for multiple and diverse needs in the community,” said Muise.