Building Hope Going Public
By John Swartz
For most people in the Orillia area things are great, good or OK. There is a small percentage of people who can’t even say things are bad because describing the situation of someone who has no roof to shield them from the elements is several degrees below having a bad situation.
The Lighthouse Soup Kitchen and Shelter has been providing a temporary roof and lunch for men for many years. They see the need to provide something more substantial for homeless people than a few meals and a few nights off the streets. The chair of the board, Glenn Wagner, has been building momentum for his pet project to build a bigger shelter, not just for men, and bring together other services in order to help homeless people get into permanent housing and on a track to build a life.
That in a nutshell is Building Hope. You’ve heard of it. It’s not a euphemism for a thought experiment. It’s going to be a place, on Queen Street, where people like the subject of a video the media was shown on Wednesday can restore hope they will not always be homeless. That man was not alone on the street, his wife and 5 children were with him.
The fundraising campaign team, Linda Goodall, (Lighthouse executive director), Lynn Thomas (Lighthouse and Building Hope development coordinator), Tanya Dehmel (Building Hope campaign administrator), and Building Hope co-chair Charlene Taylor held the press conference to announce they raised enough to start construction.
“Two years ago we didn’t have anything in the bank, but now through federal grants, County of Simcoe, the City of Orillia and the province we’ve been able to raise with pledges, grants and donations $11 million,” said Goodall.
If construction started three years ago when the project was initiated, they’d have all the money they need, however, construction cost have gone up to $14 million since then.
“We have a $3 million gap. That’s why we are here to appeal to our community today,” said Goodall.
Thomas outlined many reasons why people should consider making a donation to Building Hope.
“The cost of sheltering an individual (at the Lighthouse) is approximately one tenth of what it costs an individual to take up a bed at Orillia Soldier’s Memorial. That’s a huge cost savings right there,” Thomas said. She also said the Lighthouse also provides space for people the OPP see a need to put up for a few days, rather than house them in cells as a humanitarian gesture, because it’s 75% less expensive. She said donors would be doing more good than they think.
“The donor will help change the lives of families, women, youth, men, senior couples who have no hope left, no will left, no resources left,” said Thomas.
The ground breaking is May 5 at 2 p.m. at the 75 Queen Street site. They have a nice program with some celebratory entertainment lined up for the whole community to enjoy.
“It will truly be an event to celebrate after many years of vision and planning by our board chair, Glenn Wagner and a team of passionate community members,” said Thomas.
They believe 18 months later they will open for business with the first phase, 20-unit, supportive housing building – in time to put up Christmas decorations. The fundraising to date has been such they can concurrently build the community services hub phase (which will house 40 emergency beds and other support services) instead of at some later point. It should be open 6 months later.
Some of the co-locating services will be funded by others, like the province, and not be on the Building Hope operating budget. Taylor, a retired nurse, is excited about one aspect of new service, a medical clinic, with doctors and nurses available to see the people the Lighthouse serves now, and homeless women, children and youth they are unable to provide service to under present conditions.
“It’s now for anybody who needs it,” said Taylor. She said getting mental health and other types of longer-term treatment isn’t possible now. “That’s a huge issue. If you talk to any of our partners in the community they all have wait lists for programming, for supports, for housing. It’s going to make a big difference to get people off the streets.”
Taylor also said much of the proceeds of the recent Coldest Night of the Year fundraiser are going to be directed to Building Hope.
“The calculations are still coming in and people can still donate, but we are looking like we can put almost all of that ($128,588 to date) towards this Building Hope campaign,” said Taylor.
The campaign has several donating options ranging from $100 to $10,000 as. People can buy a brick or have naming rights to various facilities within the project.
They also have a gala fundraiser at Casino Rama May 31 with a different kind of line up. Keynote speaker Pat Nixon was homeless and eventually became a member of the Order of Canada , artist Leah Denbok authored Nowhere to Call Home, and Jason McCoy will perform. Tickets are available online.
There are fundraising concerts this spring with the Toronto Mass Choir, the Dofasco Male Chorus, and a golf tournament in the fall. Building Hope also has a booth at the Orillia Home and Cottage Show in April where they will show off their donation package (you can see it online now) and of course, take donations.
(Images Supplied)
