Shelter to open in Vancouver's West End

A sixth emergency shelter for the homeless will be opening Tuesday in Vancouver, the first in the city's West End.

The opening comes just days after reports that the city's other five shelters have reached capacity and had to turn people awayduring the weekend.

The new shelter is being opened under the city'sHEAT [Homeless Emergency Action Team] program and will be locatedin a vacant office buildingat 747 Cardero Street, according to Spencer Herbert, the B.C. NDP MLA for the area.

The 24-hour facility two blocks from the upscale Coal Harbour neighbourhood will have 40 beds, serve two meals a day andaccept shopping carts and pets.

The West End is home to an estimated 200 homeless people, Herbert said.

Two other temporary shelters have opened recently, one in December 2009 at 677 East Broadway and the other last Wednesday at 1435 Granville Street, joining the three temporary emergency shelters already in operation.

The Granville shelter first opened December 2008 and closed in July 2009. A neighbouring shelter at 1442 Howe Street opened in February 2009 and closed in August 2009 after complaints from neighbourhood residents about fighting and drug-dealing by people frequenting the facility.

The Cardero Street shelter is scheduled to close at the end of April.