Shambhala Is Raising Money to Fight British Columbia's Affordable Housing Crisis

One hundred tickets to next year's sold-out Shambhala Music Festival in British Columbia are being raffled off this weekend in a fundraiser for a local housing charity. The proceeds of the ticket sales are going to Nelson CARE Society's Room to Live campaign, which helps provide safe and affordable housing options in Nelson.

In an interview with the Nelson Star, Shambhala owner Jenna Arpita described the city's current living situation as "ridiculous," saying, "There's a zero percent vacancy and it's the people who are already marginalized who are being most affected. People are living on the streets, both the shelter and the women's shelter are full, and so many people are being forced to move away because there's nowhere suitable for them to live."

The campaign is focussed on renovating and making improvements to Ward Street Place, a 100-year-old building which houses an emergency homeless shelter, 35 single occupancy rooms, and three apartments.

Added Nelson CARES executive director Jenny Robinson, "It doesn't matter who you are or what type of music you listen to: if you can't find a place to live, you can't find a place to live. Nelson is home for a lot of people who want to stay here, so we think it's really great that Shambhala is hosting these events and supporting the work we're doing.

The tickets will be raffled off during two fundraiser nights at Bloom Nightclub October 21 and 22, more info can be found here.

Revisit our 2016 feature about the sober ravers of Shambhala.

Max Mohenu is on Twitter.