It’s a place that helps those who are more accustomed to being the helpers.
Honour House, located in New Westminster, provides a temporary home, free of charge, to Canadian Forces members, veterans, first responders and their families, including those from Squamish, while they receive medical care and treatment in the Lower Mainland.
A provincial tour to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder and Honour House stopped in Squamish Friday, when local first responders turned out in droves to support the home.
Squamish Fire Chief Bill Stoner, who was at the event held at Junction Park in downtown Squamish, said it’s important to spread the word about the house.
“It is awesome,” Stoner said of the 10-bedroom, four-storey home. “It is an amazing place for everyone to go and stay if they need care or their family needs care. It is a great bunch of volunteers that run it.”
Squamish paramedic Kim Rousseau and her firefighter husband, Sean, spent two weeks at the house a couple of years ago when their young son Logan had to have emergency surgery on his adenoids and tonsils. “I called… and within three days they had us set up at Honour House,” Rousseau said while at the tour barbecue.
The best thing about the home is an entire family can stay, Rousseau noted.
Logan had to be within 10 minutes of a trauma-equipped hospital while he recovered, so without Honour House, the family of six would have had to stay at a hotel, Rousseau said.
“Unfortunately my work didn’t give me leave without pay,” she said “It would have been two weeks without pay plus a hotel room, which we couldn’t afford with four kids.”
First responders and their families stay at the home for free. Honour House’s operating costs are covered entirely by donations and fundraising.
It is sometimes hard for those used to rushing in to help others to accept help, according to Craig Longstaff, general manager of the Honour House Society.
“They are kind of proud people. They are so used to looking after everyone else, when it comes time to help them, they don’t know how to look for it,” Longstaff said. “Even to the point where we had to start a refer-a-friend program where we would let people know, ‘If you know that one of your buddies is going through a hard time, redirect him our way so that we can help. He might be too proud to ask.’”
The “Tour of Honour” began on April 28 and will visit a total of 38 B.C. communities.
For more information on Honour House, go to Honourhouse.ca.
