Other news
Building Collaboration In Sooke
Margaret McIntyre, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Volume 28 Issue 10, 11 & 12 | Posted: December 29, 2014
Advent has just begun, and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is anticipating a season of Hope!
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is proud to announce the completion of a joint project in Sooke which will provide affordable living space for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth (19 – 31). The Hope Centre, located at 6750 West Coast Road, is the fruit of a partnership between the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Vancouver Island (SSVP) and the M’akola Housing Society.
SSVP has owned the property for more than 25 years. Their Sooke thrift store was originally on this site before it moved temporarily to allow for construction of Hope Centre. The Society donated the land and M’akola Housing provided an equal amount of cash which enabled them to bring their mutual vision of providing affordable rental housing for local singles to fruition.
Advent has just begun, and the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is anticipating a season of Hope!
The Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is proud to announce the completion of a joint project in Sooke which will provide affordable living space for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth (19 – 31). The Hope Centre, located at 6750 West Coast Road, is the fruit of a partnership between the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Vancouver Island (SSVP) and the M’akola Housing Society.
SSVP has owned the property for more than 25 years. Their Sooke thrift store was originally on this site before it moved temporarily to allow for construction of Hope Centre. The Society donated the land and M’akola Housing provided an equal amount of cash which enabled them to bring their mutual vision of providing affordable rental housing for local singles to fruition.
The international SSVP mandate is “to serve in hope” and this inspired the name of the new centre. M’akola are the landlords of the Hope Centre apartments and they will be filling vacancies in the building over the next couple of months.
The Hope Centre is a four-story building. The ground floor houses an expanded thrift store which has now moved back home again into over 350 square metres of space. There are 25 housings units (18 studio suites and 7 one-bedroom suites) as well as shared laundry, a lounge and decks for residents.
On the third floor SSVP has a Social Concern Office which will be providing outreach programming to local residents and the joint use, with M’akola Housing Society, of a 1,200 square foot meeting space which will be available for educational and mixed use services.
Currently, SSVP is interacting with Sooke community agencies to discern the best use of this space. The second floor is also home to the Ahimsa Sooke Yoga and Wellness Centre which combines with the not-for-profit Sooke Therapeutic Yoga Society to make yoga accessible to everyone in the local area. Hope Centre residents will be able to participate on a donation basis.
REVIVAL
Another source of hope for SSVP is the revival of a dormant Conference at St. Rose of Lima parish. The completion of the Hope Centre acted as an impetus to get the Conference up and running again, and already several members of the parish have shown an interest in serving the needs of the Sooke community by becoming a member of SSVP. St. Rose of Lima Pastor Rev. Mike Favero has been invaluable in this renewal process.
Just as Hope Centre reached completion, the Society received more good news about a SSVP housing project that has been in the works for several years. Funding has been secured to start construction of Rosalie’s Village in the spring of 2015.
Rising from the belief that “it takes a village to raise a child,” Rosalie’s Village will be a 42-unit housing project for female youth with children and older women who are experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk of homelessness. It will include an infant/toddler daycare with capacity for 37 children, with priority given to residents of Rosalie’s Village.
In addition to the residents and daycare facilities, there will be a Social Concern Office. This office will provide space for support required by the tenants of the building and space for the resident support worker and Women’s Day Program.
Please visit www.isupportrosalies.ca to get current information about the development of Rosalie’s Village or to donate to this much-needed project.
Margaret McIntyre, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul