With a sparkling new kitchen where prison cells once held lawbreakers, Sechelt's transformed former RCMP building is set to open Nov. 1 as the long-awaited Arrowhead Centre.
The centre will combine two facilities to support people on the Coast coping with mental illnesses: Legacy Housing, a one-time home to top international athletes at Whistler's Olympic Athletes Village, which will provide eight units of supportive housing; and the Arrowhead Clubhouse, which will provide daytime activities and support.
"It's so bright and cheerful, it's going to be wonderful," said Sechelt Coun. Ann Kershaw, following a site tour Thursday, Oct. 14.
Coun. Fred Taylor added that keeping the red brick of the old RCMP building adds a heritage dimension to the site.
"I think it's going to be really a landmark for the community," he said. "And the benefits to those club members, we can't even estimate - people who are living in terrible accommodation or maybe living in the bush are going to have an opportunity to have a meal, have their clothes washed, and have the opportunity to have a home of their own."
Legacy Housing manager Lori Wishlow confirmed that, following an interview process, seven men and one woman have been selected for the Legacy Housing units - a gender distribution which reflects the Coast's demographics of people coping with mental illnesses.
"I had a much bigger heart after I had finished those interviews," Wishlow said. "They were all very keen, very positive and very clear about what our expectations are of them living in there - about being crime-free, drug-free, gang-free, all of that."
The new residents will live in units measuring 300 sq.ft., furnished with a bed plus a community-donated "starter kit" including bedding, towels and other household items.
Val Nash, a project consultant with Sunshine Coast Community Services Society - which will run both facilities - said residents will pay $400 a month in rent, with the $300 balance covered by Vancouver Coastal Health's semi-independent living program.
Nash said the tenants aren't obliged to make use of the next-door clubhouse services and supports, but the idea is that they will want to.
As for the plan for the clubhouse, program co-ordinator Jim White said programming will build on the "very positive" model that the Arrowhead Centre Society long ran in the community before having to close its doors in late summer of 2009. The new clubhouse will include a garden for members to tend, a spacious kitchen for cooking, TVs and three computers.
"With the new facility, the new opportunities, we're hoping that the membership can be expanded and that [members] can participate and identify whatever new programs and activities they feel are going to be good for them," White said.
Arrowhead board chair Bob Smith said while the old clubhouse served 35 to 50 members, it's hard to know what part of that population is still on-Coast and likely to make use of the new facility. But Smith voiced optimism.
"This is a very attractive facility and it's much more fully staffed and has a clearer sense of purpose, and we expect it's going to draw a lot of the people who are vulnerable on the Coast," he said.
While the grand opening for the centre isn't scheduled until December, the community is invited to view the new facility at an open house Saturday, Oct. 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
