IN PICTURES: Regina’s new permanent emergency shelter set to open

WATCH: New permanent emergency shelter will go into operation on July 28 following months of planning and deliberations. Wayne Mantyka reports.

After months planning and deliberations, Regina’s new permanent emergency shelter will go into operation next week.

The New Beginning Shelter is a 50-bed facility and will offer wraparound services to a growing number of homeless people in the city.

An official opening ceremony was held on Friday, with Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski outlining what the facility will provide.

“It offers not just a shelter but connection. Three meals a day, access to wellness and cultural supports and the kind of care that truly helps people begin again,” he explained.

The shelter replaces a temporary facility in the former YMCA building downtown, with all the programs there moving over to the new facility.

“Not only are folks having a safe place to stay but that cultural component and addictions awareness to work alongside the shelter, so in essence I think today just represents [a] milestone from being in a temporary operation to permanent operations,” Natasha Kennedy, the executive director of Regina Treaty Status Indian Services said on Friday.

The $6.8 million shelter is funded by the three levels of government. It was built in a record time of just 18 weeks but was met with some resistance from neighbouring businesses. Discussions will be ongoing to make certain any concerns are addressed.

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“That’s not a one and done type of thing. The expectation from all parties involved is that everybody will be consistently communicating to make sure that if challenges arise, we have a mechanism to handle that,” Bachynski said.

The new shelter is the same size as the facility that it is replacing. There is no time limit as to how long people can stay but the goal is to provide services needed to help people successfully transition into the community.