The Stanley/New Fountain homeless shelter on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has received a funding extension enabling it to remain open for another two months, the B.C. government announced Monday.

The 40-bed shelter on Blood Alley will remain open until the end of June, according to a statement from B.C.'s Ministry Responsible for Housing.

The shelter had been funded to April 30.

The ministry said the extension should provide enough time for the province and the shelter's operator, PHS Community Services Society, to find other housing options for the homeless who use those beds.

Three buildings, with a total of 309 units that have been set aside for low-income housing, are due to be ready by the end of the extension period.

They include a site with 108 apartments for women and children on Abbott Street.; a 105-unit apartment building on Seymour Street.; and a 96-unit building on West Pender Street.

Permanent housing less costly

Two other sites under construction on Dunbar Street and East 1st Avenue with 280 apartments will be completed by the end of the year.

The ministry said the cost to operate temporary shelters, such as the Stanley/New Fountain, is approximately twice as much as funding permanent supportive housing. It costs approximately $2,250 every month for each mat on the floor at the Stanley/New Fountain, while the cost of operating an apartment at the new Station Street supportive housing is approximately $1,150 per month.

Vancouver city councillor Kerry Jang said the city and the province are slowly winning the battle against homelessness on the Downtown Eastside.

Jang said the number of Vancouver homeless has declined by nearly 50 per cent in two years, but more funding for housing is still needed to accommodate the hundreds of people still living on the streets.