BGC Prince County hoping to expand women's shelter in Summerside as demand grows
CBC
BGC Prince County is planning to add more shelter services for women and children facing homelessness in the Summerside area, but first, municipal council has to rezone a portion of the city to allow it.
The organization is already running an emergency shelter for women and their children called LifeHouse, which can accommodate about four families, but it's at capacity every night, says the shelter's manager, Kaitlyn Rochefort.
"LifeHouse has served over 200 women in families since we opened in 2022, and in 2024 alone, we had to turn away over 80 individuals and their families just due to not having the capacity to bring them into shelter at that time," Rochefort said.
"It's devastating having to turn people away."
The organization has submitted an application to the city to add a new building that would nearly double the capacity of LifeHouse.
It would include five bedrooms with a bathroom and shower. The shelter would follow the LifeHouse model, offering wraparound services like case management, parenting support and mental health and addiction referrals.
The application for the shelter will first go to the city's planning board for a recommendation, said Summerside Mayor Dan Kutcher.
City council will likely vote on zoning for the shelter in the next month or so, he said.
In addition to LifeHouse, BCG Prince County also operates transitional housing for women and their children, as well as Boys and Girls Clubs locations in the Summerside and Wellington area.
"BGC really likes to focus on vulnerable youth and how we can help the youth in Summerside thrive. And you can't thrive without homes… then they have a safe space for their kids to go and to continue to thrive as well," said Shelby Pitre, LifeHouse outreach co-ordinator.
"In October, we opened a 10-unit transitional housing, which is at capacity now as well. So, we're very successful in the shelters that we do have, but we absolutely need more."
Later this month, BGC will add more transitional housing by opening a new 24-unit building in Summerside, but that still leaves a lack of shelter services.
Pitre said the organization already owns the building for the new shelter. It would require only minor renovations and approval from the city.
"It's a beautiful five-bedroom house. Each bedroom has its own bathroom. It has a huge beautiful kitchen. There wouldn't be a whole lot of renovations that needed to be done to turn it into a shelter."
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