Storage facility

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All 200 bins were stuffed full earlier this week, and suitcases and shopping carts holding the belongings of more people were stashed in the corners. There are 280 people registered to use the storage facility, and an estimated 160 of those regularly keep their stuff in the labelled, neatly stacked bins, said Rev. Ric Matthews.

“You have close to 160 people. … This is where their closet is,” he said. “People come at all critical times of the day, get what they need, put it back … and suddenly they are living a life like other people in mainstream society.”

The facility is staffed 10.5 hours a day so clients can access their stuff, and then leave it stored away while eating, sleeping, looking for work, showering or using public toilets.

The benefits, Matthews said, include a reduction in theft, in the spread of bedbugs, and in clutter on the streets.

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