It may not look like much now, but the upper floor of the Upper Room Mission will soon be a most welcome space for people in need. 

Renovations are underway at the Vernon mission which will help keep more people experiencing homelessness warm during the winter months, while providing them with more stability. 

The Mission shared photos Thursday afternoon of renovations taking place for its new shelter floor, located on the top floor of the Mission's building on 27th Avenue. 

Operations manager Amy Flater told The Morning Star that once the renovations are complete, the top floor will become a dedicated space for the Mission's winter mat program, which will be able to expand from 20 beds to 26. The winter mat program offers people experiencing homelessness a reprieve from the bitter cold from Nov. 1 to March 31. 

The space currently being renovated will also provide guests at the Mission with a more permanent place to stay, as currently the winter mat program operates on the building's ground floor which has to be regularly reconfigured for dining and other uses. 

"It's going to make it so that we don't have to take down the entire dining room and then set up the beds, and then take down the beds and set up the dining room," Flater explained. "There will be a more permanent space for the beds, which will allow us to support the guests better."

As it stands, guests enroled in the mat program have to pack up their belongings at the end of their stay at 7 a.m. to make way for the Mission's daytime program. With the more permanent space coming in the future, the hope is that some guests will have a place to keep their belongings, giving them added stability. 

"We're hoping to offer a certain amount of beds that are more permanent and then still have a space for the mat program beds, and then if there's a cold snap we'll still have the ability to add cots downstairs if needed to accommodate extra people when it's really cold outside," Flater said. 

Once the upgrades are complete, the hope is also to be able to better support guests.

"Even right now we work really closely with the mental health substance use clinic and different agencies in town to make sure our guests are supported the best we can, but this will just allow us to do that even more," Flater said. 

The renovations will also include the additions of laundry machines, washrooms and a shower, and the new space will have phone chargers and more storage for guests' belongings. 

"We're also hoping to find a way to add a case manager to our team so that we can work more with people on their goals ... like getting housing and getting into treatment," Flater said.

The floor that's being renovated for the mat program used to be the Mission's office space, but the Mission purchased the house directly behind the building which is where its offices are now housed. 

It's not known exactly when the renovations will be completed, but Flater said ideally the work will wrap up by spring. 

The winter mat program is funded by BC Housing, but the renovations are coming at a significant cost, and so the Mission is putting out a call-out for donations which will support the project and "ensure that no one has to face the cold without a safe place to rest," as the Mission stated in a Facebook post. 

"Every dollar makes a difference," the Mission said while inviting people to donate .