Advocate ‘thrilled’ that long-awaited Summerside emergency shelter has opened [Video]

A woman who has long worked toward getting an overnight emergency shelter in Summerside says she hopes it will help keep some of the city’s unhoused population off the streets and out of public parks. 

The long-awaited shelter opened Thursday afternoon, nearly a year after the P.E.I. government had initially hoped to have it up and running. 

“I, along with all of our volunteers, are absolutely thrilled to see the emergency shelter finally open its doors and begin accepting clients,” said Elysha Whitlock, executive director of The Village Summerside, a non-profit that aims to help people facing homelessness. 

“We wish we could have seen this a year prior to right now, but we are very thankful that it is finally open and operating. We could have used it much, much sooner.”

An overnight emergency shelter in Summerside is now up and running, nearly a year after the province had initially …