Community Living readies to open doors of new centre in Fort St. John, B.C.
Fully renovated space brings expanded programming, job training as demand for services grow
After years of operating at capacity, the Fort St. John Association for Community Living is getting ready to open the doors on a new community centre it says will meet the growing need for services for people with developmental disabilities.
It’s a major facelift for the organization, which has operated out of the same building in the city’s downtown since its founding more than 65 years ago.
“We were bursting at the seams,” said executive director Jordan Soggie. “We know that the population is growing. We know the needs are increasing. So, we needed to play catch up.”
The fully renovated centre brings together a wide range of programs under one roof, including counselling and health supports, arts and creative programming, a small computer lab, and fully accessible commercial kitchen.
“This is going to give us some room to breathe," said Soggie. "To know that, yes, we will be able to support your cousin who just moved here and needs access to resources, whereas before we wouldn't have had capacity."
The association was founded in Fort St. John, B.C., in January 1960 and today supports more than 120 people.
One of the centre’s biggest new features will be a social enterprise café creating hands-on job and life skills training opportunities.
While Community Living already works closely with local employers, Soggie says the space allows the organization to better support people entering the workforce.
“We can know better what they would be successful in, versus what they might have struggles with,” he said. “And we can work on those struggles before they are engaged with an employer.”
Despite the association's long history, stewardship manager Jared Braun says many people still don't fully understand what the association does or who it serves.
The new centre will help raise the organization’s profile and its connection with the community, he said.
“Now we have a space that is a lot more welcoming for the community to come and be a part and to see and to know and to meet our folks," he explained.
The estimated $1.6-million renovation is being funded through a mix of grants and community sponsorships. Construction is set to wrap up this winter, with a formal grand opening in spring.
Accessible housing planned
The new centre is also just one part of a broader expansion underway.
Soggie says the association is also developing an accessible housing project and expanding into mental health-care programming.
He points to the ongoing barriers people with disabilities face when it comes to accessing these services locally.
“For us to really create a community of inclusion, we have to have our hands into all areas and aspects that improve quality of life,” he said.
“The community centre, careers training, mental health, housing, health care, we have to be at the table so that we can advocate for their needs.”
Subscribe to CBC’s Fort St. John Weekly for a round-up of the best news and stories from B.C.’s Peace and Northern Rockies.
