The five-year Sea to Sky Community Services initiative is finally near completion.
The Centrepoint Affordable Housing Complex, the latest addition to Fourth Avenue, is set to open this month, with all 32 of its apartments rented. Centrepoint will also be functioning as the new, centralized base of operations for SSCS, which currently offers 40 programs in the corridor.
The consolidation of operations is a first for the charitable organization, which has been operating for 40 years without a building of its own.
Estelle Taylor, who joined the project five years ago to run the public capital campaign, remembers well the magnitude of the project when it began. “It is the largest social services construction project in Squamish and the agency’s history so we knew it was a big dream,” said Taylor, who, with Centrepoint complete, left her position with the organization at the end of June. “We had to get great people on board to make it a reality. I brought together a group of well-regarded community leaders who would be able to convince the community of the value of this project.”
The $3-million capital campaign has proved rewarding, Taylor said. The $12-million building needs only to be touched up before it becomes operational on the 24th of July. “We’ve had government, corporate and philanthropic donations, which was intentional,” she said. Some of the project’s leading donors include Squamish Savings, Whistler Blackcomb and the District of Squamish, according to Taylor.
However, the funding process was not limited to organizations; thousands of community members have also contributed to the project through independent initiatives, including bottle drives and fundraising barbeques.. “It was the community spirit that built the building. Not just concrete and mortar,” she said.
Sonja Lebans, who organized three fundraising galas for Centrepoint, also attributed the project’s success to Squamish’s historically strong community ties. “Squamish has long been a community-centred place. Everybody is very involved here.” The historic community support for Squamish General Hospital, Squamish Helping Hands, and the Howe Sound Women’s Centre is proof of the giving spirit of people in Squamish, Lebans said.
Not all donations came in the form of funds, however. The land for the building was donated by the Squamish United Church, which will be re-opening in an attached but separate church building next to Centrepoint on October 1st.
Centrepoint fundraiser Owen Carney seemed optimistic about this prospect. “SSCS has been awesome for years, but they’ve been renting property in Squamish for a long time, at around $200,000 a year. Now that the United Church has donated the land, that money can be saved and go into the mortgage,” Carney said. “It’s proved beneficial to everybody. It’s a very good project and very needed in the community.”
For Taylor, the future of the agency is tied to the future of Squamish as a community. “The community is growing, and so the community needs will grow. When there are more mothers in the community, for example, there’s a greater need for childcare. With more growth, there’s a greater need for counselling services. Now that we have the building we can safeguard our ability to respond to these needs as they grow and change,” she said. “It’s not just about four walls; it’s about what the building enables us to do. It means we can help more people immediately and in the near future.”
The community will be invited to an open house, but the date is to be determined. For more information on the project go to www.sscs.ca/.
