Trail’s homeless shelter is operating at or near capacity, despite rumors to the contrary.
In a letter received by Trail city council last week, Tyler Baker and Nanette Drobot of BC Housing acknowledged concerns about vacant beds and the perception that the shelter is not always full. But they said that’s seldom the case.
They said from September 2024 to July 2025, the average occupancy at the La Nina shelter was 91 per cent. Ninety-eight people had a total of 287 stays, with some people leaving and then coming back. Only 23 per cent of the stays were two days or less.
“It is far more common for people to come to the shelter for longer periods of time where they can access services and supports,” Baker and Drobot wrote.
They said 86 per cent of people who left the shelter returned to the streets or started camping, but 20 people found housing, while 18 shelter stays ended for different reasons including admittance to hospital, treatment, or being transferred to other shelters.
They also clarified that La Nina doesn’t offer drop-in services to people who haven’t completed an intake and been assigned a bed. If someone gives up their bed, or is asked to leave, or misses curfew and someone else is assigned their bed, they must complete the intake process over again, Baker and Drobot said.
Only once someone is assigned a bed do they have access to food, showers, and support from shelter staff. That’s a change from the drop-in model offered at the old Bay Avenue location, where people could access services without a shelter bed.
The letter explained that as part of BC Housing’s agreement with the Trail Association for Community Living, which manages the shelter, the facility is required to be low-barrier. People can stay for a single night or a few nights at a time.
“This is not only permitted — it is expected and normal,” Baker and Drobot said.
They added many people initially stay briefly and and then return intermittently. Shelter staff try to build relationships to increase stability and eventually help people find longer-term housing.
“Conversely, there are also guests who have remained at the shelter nearly uninterrupted for extended periods — some for close to a year,” the letter said. “This range of engagement reflects the shelter’s role in meeting people where they are, without imposing rigid expectations about length of stay.”
Baker and Drobot offered to attend a future council meeting. Council agreed to invite them along with the shelter manager.
Meanwhile, councillor Nick Cashol presented a notice of motion that’s expected to appear on city council’s Sept. 29 agenda. It would ask staff to prepare a report on the city’s bylaw authority regarding encampments along the Columbia River within municipal boundaries.
Cashol cited an email he received from a superintendent with the Ministry of Forests, which has jurisdiction over Crown lands. He was told that typically the province leaves the enforcement of bylaws on those lands to municipalities.
Cashol wants the city’s role regarding complaints to be further clarified, along with an explanation of how the city collaborates with other agencies.
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