The Sechelt Indian Band (SIB) has gifted the old employment building in Sechelt to the Sunshine Coast Homelessness Advisory Council (SCHAC), provided the group can move it to a new location by the end of January.
“The SIB approached me two weeks ago. They knew that the homelessness committee was desperate for a new location [for the homeless shelter],” Cayce Laviolette of SCHAC told Coast Reporter this week.
The current homeless shelter at St. Hilda’s in Sechelt is at capacity, serving eight to 10 people each night. Sometimes more clients are squeezed into crowded quarters to escape the cold.
Laviolette said SCHAC had approached the SIB before to seek a larger leased space, however there was nothing available.
“But then they had this other building that they were going to demolish, the Sechelt employment centre, and they wanted to know if we wanted it. But it will cost money to move it and build a new foundation and all that jazz, so it’s not cheap but it’s cheaper than building something brand new of that size,” Laviolette said.
SCHAC started talking about possible places to move the gifted building to.
“The only issue is the timeframe was really short. The new tenant for that property on band lands moves in in February, so they need that building gone by the end of January,” Laviolette said, noting he doesn’t know who the new tenant will be.
SCHAC realized they’d need to partner with an organization that had land and money and the ability to get the job done quickly.
“So we decided our best bet would be to approach the District of Sechelt and see if they would be able to basically take over the whole thing,” Laviolette said.
“It’s a big ask and I doubt that they’ll say yes to all of it, but they may say yes to some of it.”
If the district can find a location to move the building to, it would be able to accommodate upwards of 40 shelter users, Laviolette said.
“And there’s room to expand if you knock down walls because there are a lot of little offices. There’s a capacity to build a full basement too, which would be great for storage and running programs and stuff,” Laviolette said.
He noted it would be a short-term solution to serve the Coast for the next three to five years.
“Raincity [the organization that staffs the shelter] and Vancouver Coastal Health are still pursuing getting a brand new building designed and having it paid for by BC Housing – but because that’s years away, this would be a temporary fix.”
Laviolette was before council on Dec. 21 to ask for support, producing a mid-range estimate to move the building of around $330,000.
Council wasn’t quick to support the request, but moved it to budget deliberations for more discussion. Council also voted to contact the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to see if the ministry has land available.
