The Canadian Government is stepping up to help homeless youth in Kamloops, British Columbia.

This morning, Cathy McLeod, MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo announced that approximately 100 homeless or at-risk youth will benefit from improvements being made to a local emergency shelter facility.

McLeod, speaking on behalf of the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, Diane Finley, is “pleased to support Interior Community Services it its efforts to provide a safe and healthy living environment.”

The improvements to the Kamloops Safe House will be paid for with a $49,000 grant from the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, a community-based program run by the Canadian Government. The HPS gives funding and support directly to communities in need, and is intended to prevent and reduce homelessness.

The grant from the HPS will go toward repairing and painting the interior and exterior of the shelter, installing new windows, doors, and flooring, and building a drain pit.

A news release from the Ministry of Human Resources and Skills Development details the background of today’s announcement:

“In September 2008, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $1.9 billion over five years, until 2014, for housing and homelessness programs for low-income Canadians. This commitment gives the Government the flexibility to work with the provinces and territories and municipalities, and with charitable organizations, to develop ways to improve the effectiveness of federal spending…”

In Kamloops, volunteers perform a count of those living without permanent shelter; in 2009, according to the Kamloops Homelessness Action Plan, the number of homeless in Kamloops was 103. According to the same study, in British Columbia, 21.9% of children live below the poverty line. In Kamloops, a 2006 study reported that homeless individuals living in Kamloops range from 13 to 68 years of age.

Shannon Smart writes for The Tyee