Nelson’s Committee on Homelessness (NCOH) has been forced to terminate the lease for the current location of Nelson’s Coordinated Access HUB at 521 Vernon Street, this March.
The Coordinated Access HUB, as described on the Nelson Cares website, is a frontline service center and drop-in program that connects vulnerable people to outreach and basic needs resources. It offers harm reduction tools, coordinated access to housing, employment programs, and health services for vulnerable community members.
In a media release from NCOH on Tuesday, the organization announced that it has been forced to terminate the lease at the HUB’s current location due to a lack of funding and increasing overhead.
“Every effort was made to keep the doors open; however, with the end of a two-year Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) grant and the significant decrease in federal government funding, along with the significant increase in costs in rent and overhead, it is impossible to sustain the service at this location moving forward,” said NCOH officials in the release.
NCOH says its partners are aware that the closure of the HUB will have a significant impact on the community’s vulnerable population, peers, and front-line workers.
The organization is diligently working to find a new, suitable location for the drop-in resource and referral center that will be sustainable long-term, while continuing to advocate for more funding and support for the HUB program in the community.
“We hope that this unfortunate circumstance is a short pause in a longer-term solution for these essential services. We acknowledge that there is a lot of work to do in partnership to stand up another HUB service, to which we are determined to make happen. We are requesting that NCOH’s member organizations and the community come together to collaborate and strategize on potential opportunities and sustainable funding sources.”