The Nicola Valley Shelter and Support Society’s cold weather shelter saw its most overnight guests in the past three years this season, and wrapped up its shelter program with a volunteer appreciation dinner on April 15.

Statistics prepared by the society state that 79 people stayed overnight at the shelter during the 2014-15 operating season, up from 64 last year.

In the 2012-13 season, 66 people sought help at the shelter.

In all three years, the divide between men and women in those numbers was similar, with men numbering above 50 and the remaining 10 or so guests being women.

In the 2014-15 season, 67 overnight guests were men and 12 were women.

The shelter had 73 volunteers this season, all of whom put in countless hours.

Patricia Ray took her volunteerism to another level this past year by building six beds for overnight guests.

Ray dabbles in woodworking and said the guests slept on the floor of the shelter the previous two seasons, something she didn’t like to see.

“It gives more dignity to the people coming in, that they don’t have to crawl down on the floor,” Ray said.

The shelter society saw some success in helping people find housing this past year.

Of the 79 overnight guests, 21 requested additional supports for housing, health, legal aid, mental health or addictions.

There were 18 requests for housing, and seven requests for other services. Of the 18 requests for housing, 13 people were housed and remain housed, the statistics state.

The shelter society also helped three families at risk of becoming homeless retain housing.

In all, the cold weather shelter was accessed 923 times this season, up about 50 per cent from the 617 times it was accessed in 2013-14.

Despite the spike in visits, the shelter itself was only open 126 days this season – about two weeks fewer than it was the previous one.

The shelter opens up in November and March if the weather is forecasted to be below zero degrees. From December to February, it’s open every night.

The shelter opened for its first night on Nov. 10 and was open nightly until March 9.

In 2013-14, the shelter was open for 25 days in November and was open daily from December 1 to March 28.

The 79 overnight visitors this year made up 507 overnight stays, about 100 more than last season, which amassed 403 overnight stays from 64 different people.

The number of times guests accessed the shelter for services such as food and clothing in 2014-15 totalled 416, up from the 214 guests who accessed the shelter for these services in 2013-14, the stats state.

Merritt Mayor Neil Menard told those gathered at the appreciation dinner that although the shelter volunteers have busy lives, they are also the kind of people who get the job done.

“I don’t know how the city can say thank you to all of you for everything that you do,” Menard said.

Shelter volunteer Paul Sahota said he thinks this year’s group of shelter volunteers was the best yet, noting that whenever a volunteer was needed to cover a shift on short notice, someone always showed up.

Sahota, a lifelong Merrittonian, said he chooses to volunteer because he knows some of the people who access the shelter and the circumstances that have put them in a vulnerable position.

“It could happen to any one of us,” he said.

Natasha Thys has been volunteering at the shelter as part of her schooling in social work. She said she wants to work with people who have addictions, and work as a street nurse.

She said she had a great experience volunteering at the shelter and the facility can use more volunteers.

Shelter society director Kelly Donaldson said the shelter has a good core group of volunteers that contribute year after year.

“It’s really, for lack of a better word, a thankless job. I know that you guys feel very strongly about what you do, I know how trying it can be — some of those really long nights where your heart breaks for a lot of people that you keep seeing coming in and we wish we could do more,” Donaldson told the crowd.

“We’re doing the best we can with what we have in front of us, but I think every year our group gets stronger, every year our mandate gets more powerful and every year we get closer to coming up with some long-term solutions.”

More than 100 people donated items to the shelter this season, and 43 organizations donated items or financial support.