Unitarian Shelter celebrates reopening after two month long renovations
The shelter celebrated the transfer of operations from the First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo to the Nanaimo Family Life Association. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm
After two months, the Unitarian Shelter celebrates its re-opening after the completion of renovations and a transfer of operations to the Nanaimo Family Life Association.
The renovations were done to bring the shelter into compliance with BC Building and BC Fire Codes. The shelter launched a fundraising campaign in December of last year to raise money for the renovation.
The $300,000 renovation saw new flooring with insulation, an air exchange unit, and a new accessible washroom with a shower, as well as the addition of space for healthcare groups to assist shelter guests.
The shelter also celebrated the transfer of operations from the First Unitarian Fellowship of Nanaimo to the Nanaimo Family Life Association. The non-profit association has overseen the operation of the winter shelter at St Peter’s Church in Nanaimo for the last three years.
CHLY attended the celebration over the weekend on July 13.
Outgoing Executive Director for the shelter and current city councillor, Paul Manly spoke about the renovations and transfer of operations. Manly said the building was built 77 years ago, and used to be a bar.
He said that after the organization unionized, a health and safety committee was created. He said the committee found serval problems with the building.
“The wiring in here was a nightmare. Seventy-seven years of rentals of plumbing and wiring,” Manly said. “There were junction boxes all over the place, there were shut-off belts everywhere. So, you know, there was a big job to do.”
He said in December they started to fundraise the money needed to do the renovation and they were able to raise approximately $28,000. From that, he said the shelter was also able to get funding from several organizations and groups around the community.
He said with the money raised, they were able to add the accessible washroom out of a storage room that housed an old boiler.
“So this room four months ago was padlocked with a sign on it said ‘do not enter’ because it was coated with asbestos,” he said. “There is a five or 6000-pound boiler in there with asbestos caked on”
The newly built washroom is dedicated to Sophia, a 23-year-old shelter worker who died last year.
“We're in a tough situation in a lot of ways in this community. We've had cuts to housing programs, we've had cuts to health care over the decades and Sophia, tragically, is–was a casualty of that, because Sophia was looking for health care in our community,” he said. “She was working here with people who are coming off the streets with infections.”
Manly said this washroom and health care room named Sophia’s Spa, was the missing piece the shelter needed.
“But we really needed we would get people showing up here with lice, with scabies with bedbugs, with infections, people getting sick in the night and soiling themselves,” Manly said. “We needed a place for them to be able to get cleaned up.”
He said he finished his position as Executive Director for the shelter on July 1st and that this transfer comes after hearing from members of the Unitarian Fellowship that there needs to be a new organization to take over and continue the work.
Deborah Hollins is the Executive Director of the Nanaimo Family Life Association. She said with this transition she is grateful for the support the association has gotten from the Unitarian community and from Manly.
“As part of the transition, we were able to sit down individually with each staff get to know them a little bit, give them the opportunity to get to know us.” Hollins said. “We were so impressed by the quality of folks that you have here, and who are so passionate about this work. And as we know, passion for this work is absolutely crucial.
CHLY spoke with MP for Nanaimo-Ladysmith Lisa Marie Barron following the celebration. She said she has been pushing to see more funding for the federal Reaching Home program to go toward organizations such as the Unitarian Shelter. The Reaching Home program was one of the programs the shelter received funding for.
“This funding is meant to support people who are most vulnerable in our communities, which is funding that we need to see the federal government providing to communities in a much larger degree,” Barron said.
She said it is good to see the funding go towards a much-needed service, but she said it is just a drop in the bucket.
“We need a federal government that's adequately investing and on the federal side, adequately investing in health care adequately investing into housing adequately investing in, in people in our community so that they can live with the dignity and respect that they deserve,” Barron said. “We can't keep creating band aid solutions to crisis situations, we need to see that real investment so that people don't have to come to a crisis shelter to lay their heads to rest at night.”
She said she used to live around the corner from the shelter for seven years and has been able to see the importance of the shelter and the location it is in.
“It also works so closely with the surrounding community, this shelter benefits all of us to make sure that people have a safe place to lay their heads,” Barron said.
CHLY also spoke with former shelter volunteer Francise Deverell, who was excited to see the new renovations.
“I am sure that guests will be very, very pleased. If they come in, really in difficult condition, to be able to have a shower and clean off and get rid of anything that might be inhabiting your hair, something like that,” Deverell said. “What a blessing and it’s just tremendous improvement over what we had before it.”
Deverell said she was volunteering at the shelter for two or three years before the COVID-19 pandemic started. She said because of the poor ventilation the building had at the time, she had to stop due to concerns of getting ill. But she said now that the ventilation is fixed she may come back.
She said that as the operations will be now in the hands of the Nanaimo Family Life Association, the shelter will still continue to get great support from the community.
“This shelter has so much support there. People are so pleased to give us their support,” she said. “We're so grateful to the number of people who are connected to our shelter.”
She said hopes this shelter will continue to make the city a great place for everyone.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.