Nanaimo’s only warming shelter has been closed after allegations of an individual in the Society for Equity, Inclusion, and Advocacy misusing funds.
The society has also been forced to close their women’s shelter and lay off a total of ten paid staff. The society serves around 200 people monthly.
“We are deeply saddened by the turn of events which have led to the current suspension of services at SEIA,” reads the society’s press release. “We are investigating a possible misappropriation of SEIA funds and we have identified an individual we believe is responsible. That person is no longer active in the organization and the RCMP are involved. While we are confident that our actions to date will prevent any future loss to SEIA, this situation has caused SEIA to be in financial difficulty and led to the current closure of our offices.”
The organization promises to provide further information via social media.
RCMP have launched an investigation, but have not provided Coast FM with any further information.
