Community centre opening in Kamloops 'for people to have a local place'
Royal Social Club to officially open on Kamloops' north shore in January 2017
Volunteer community group Jubilee Urban Movement and Partners (JUMP) is about to open a new drop-in style centre on the north shore of Kamloops, B.C.
Since 2012, the JUMP program has been providing Saturday meals to people who might need them in that part of the city.
In January, the program will open a new space on Royal Avenue, called the Royal Social Club, that will be open six days a week.
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"Experience has led us to understand that there is a real need for a centre on the north shore to help people who are living in challenging socioeconomic situations, food insecure situations," said JUMP volunteer co-ordinator Glenn Hilke.
"We don't want to be labeled as a drop-in centre. We don't want to be labelled as a soup kitchen. This is a concept for multi-use, multi-generation, multi-economic class status use.… We'll be the only centre of this type on the north shore that is operating full time."
He says this new centre will be more accessible to people who aren't able to cross the bridge to access services on the south shore of Kamloops. It will provide a café-like setting where people can access meals and potentially hold events.
"Not everybody has a bus pass. Not everybody has a car. Not everybody has full mobility so this is an opportunity for people to have a local place they can come."
The Royal Social Club is having a soft opening to provide dinners on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Both dinners start at 5 p.m. PT at 185 Royal Ave. in Kamloops and are free to attend.
With files from Daybreak Kamloops
