When they build it, youth will come. B次元官网网址業tB次元官网网址� is a new purpose-built 14,000-square-foot building, the new home for the Pacific Centre Family Services Association.
Executive director Mitzi Dean said the beneficiaries wonB次元官网网址檛 just be the people working there, but those who are coming there to access their services.
B次元官网网址淚 have a vision of the area being a wellness sanctuary of regional significance for the community,B次元官网网址� Dean said. B次元官网网址淚t is desperately needed because (the West Shore) is growing so fast and our families need good quality services that are affordable and accessible.B次元官网网址�
The association parlayed the sale of the Havenwood estate on Heatherbell Road (currently housing the Coast Collective Arts Centre) seven years ago into the purchase of the two-acre property on the Colwood side of Goldstream Avenue, directly behind their current space on 345 Wale Rd.
The project will include a connector for the Galloping Goose Trail, which runs alongside the property line between the two roads. Dean said they expect to break ground in 2016, move in 2017 and celebrate their 50th anniversary in 2018.
B次元官网网址淚t will really improve our quality of service, maintaining consistency of available counselling space. Many times (counsellors) have to share space,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址�(Soon) we can tailor choice and preference and constancy and stability for the people we serve. It will be best designed to be able to fulfil their function (instead of) working through logistics that (the current building) isnB次元官网网址檛 ideally suited for.B次元官网网址�
The approximately 4,500-square-foot space the association operates out of in the West Shore Child, Youth and Family Centre will continue to house some of its programming, even after it occupies the 7,500-square-foot second floor of the new building.
The rest of the new space will be rented out to partners whose missions align with theirs, Dean said.
She hopes to see wellness advocates including massage therapists, midwives, general practitioners and others take advantage of the space. The associationB次元官网网址檚 part of the building will include 21 counselling rooms, two group rooms and five administrator offices, and it will no longer share a space with the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
B次元官网网址淲e strongly believe in choice of access for families,B次元官网网址� Dean said. B次元官网网址淲e have had it reported that having the Ministry in the building adds to the barrier to access our services. To increase choice to accessible services in different places and different design, in our mind, increases quality, so that is important.B次元官网网址�
Grade 8 student Pascale Grenier, 13, is a graduate of Pacific CentreB次元官网网址檚 Skookum Cafe program, which offers skills and work experience for youth looking to make a move into the job market. She said her first-hand experience helped her understand the relevance of the programming in the community, both from the benefit it had on her life and those who took the class alongside her.
B次元官网网址淚 definitely think itB次元官网网址檚 good for the community. ItB次元官网网址檚 helped a lot of people and educated a lot of youth,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淭here will be more room for more people to take more programs and have more space B次元官网网址� I think itB次元官网网址檚 definitely a positive to build a new space B次元官网网址� It was a little bit tight.B次元官网网址�
Dean agreed that the organizationB次元官网网址檚 space is cramped. And with one of the fastest-growing communities in Canada expanding at the rate it is now, taking a proactive approach will help mitigate future challenges down the road, she added. Staff are currently going through the extensive process of design and securing an architect. Finding the right engineering company is the next step, Dean said, but she looks forward to hearing feedback from the community as well.
B次元官网网址淲e welcome input and any questions that there are at any level. This is a great opportunity for lots of different people to get involved in different ways. It is not often you have a community project where people can make a contribution and have a lasting legacy.B次元官网网址�
alim@goldstreamgazette.com
