The Howe Street Shelter provided a place for the homeless during the winter, but the facility attracted an increasing number of complaints from neighbourhood residents. (CBC)A controversial homeless shelter on Howe Street in downtown Vancouver closed permanently Wednesday, two days ahead of schedule.
The shelter shut down early thanks to the availability of alternate housing for shelter residents, Deputy Mayor Geoff Meggs announced in a news release Wednesday.
The homeless shelter came under fire in recent months from condominium owners and other residents living in the densely populated high-rise neighbourhood at the north end of the Granville Street Bridge.
They claim the shelter attracted drug-dealing, prostitution and other criminal activity.
The province announced July 30 that it would close the facility on Friday Aug. 7.
The shelter was one of five opened in December 2008 under a program initiated by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson, in conjunction with the province, to provide emergency shelter to the homeless during a cold snap.
A second shelter located near Howe St. was closed earlier in July as a result of the increasing number of complaints. The other three emergency shelters, all in the Downtown Eastside, remain open.
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