British ColumbiaThe shelter, located downtown at 3892 3rd Ave., aims to provide somewhere for the city’s homeless population to sleep as the temperature drops during winter, according to Smithers Mayor Gladys Atrill.MLA says there was no community consultation, raises concerns around drug use and safetyCourtney Dickson · CBC News · Posted: Nov 16, 2025 3:00 PM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The vacant building located at 3892 3rd Ave., in Smithers, B.C., will be home to a temporary shelter this winter. (Google Maps)The Town of Smithers, B.C., says it will hold a public information session about a temporary winter shelter set to open in the community as misinformation about the facility is circulating. The shelter, located downtown at 3892 3rd Ave., aims to provide somewhere for the city’s homeless population to sleep as the temperature drops during winter, according to Smithers Mayor Gladys Atrill. According to the 2025 Homeless Count, 77 people in the community of about 5,400 are homeless. Many live in a tent encampment.“This isn’t a new issue in Smithers, in terms of people requiring better circumstances than what they get living in the tent encampment,” Atrill said. “Council has been asking for help from both the provincial government and B.C. Housing. I don’t think we imagined this particular outcome.”The town won’t be involved in operating the shelter and, according to a public notice posted Nov. 7, wasn’t involved in the application process for the facility. She said the proposal for the shelter was “quick moving.”A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing said the Bulkley Valley Harm Reduction Society applied to B.C. Housing to run a temporary shelter earlier this year, and was selected as an approved operator.The ministry said the site, a former church, is zoned for use as a “rescue mission” like a shelter, which meant the project would not require a temporary use permit — speeding up the timeline. “Bringing people indoors — especially during the wet and cold B.C. winters — is the first step toward stability for people experiencing homelessness and is key to strengthening our communities,” the spokesperson said. A homeless encampment in Smithers, B.C., on Dec. 9. 2022. (Submitted)The low-barrier shelter aims to minimize obstacles for people who need to stay there. It will have eight beds, with two staff members on-site at all times, according to the Town of Smithers. The shelter will run from November until the end of March 2026. “[It] isn’t a long-term plan, not from our perspective,” Atrill said.She said the town is working with B.C. Housing to build a supportive housing complex that would provide 40 homes for people at risk of homelessness — but it’s not quite ready yet. Bulkley Valley–Stikine MLA Sharon Hartwell has been critical of the temporary shelter.“Nobody was consulted on what was happening,” Hartwell said. A media release issued by her office on Nov. 10 said the site will “include a tent that will support the provision of so called ‘safe supply’ drugs for users of the shelter.” It also referenced a letter from a group of health-care professionals who work in a building near the shelter that raises safety concerns and alleges the shelter will facilitate “open drug use.”Shelter manager Billie Kennedy, who works with the Bulkley Valley Harm Reduction Society, said “it is misinformation that we are a safe supply site.” “We’re not a safe supply site and we will not prescribe or provide any controlled substances on site,” Kennedy said. “We’re a low-barrier shelter, which means we recognize that some of the people seeking shelter in this space likely are using substances. We’re going through extensive safety planning in order to increase not only safety and stability for those individuals, but for the community at large.”She said a smoking tent will be set up for shelter users, but it is specifically for people smoking tobacco. In her statement, Hartwell described the shelter as “experimental.” Kennedy said it’s anything but. “The operations of this shelter are based on evidence-based best practices that have been developed throughout the province and are currently operational in many, many communities and shelters around the province,” she said. “What we’re doing is not new or experimental.” A public meeting is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. PT at 4035 Walnut Drive for community members wishing to learn more about the shelter and express any concerns.ABOUT THE AUTHORCourtney Dickson is an award-winning journalist with CBC News based in Vancouver, B.C.With files from Nicole Oud, Sumi Ragu and Carolina de Ryk
Town of Smithers, B.C., says it is dealing with misinformation about temporary winter shelter
