Photo Courtesy EverythingGP Staff

By Tanner Smith

Sunrise House

The Grande Prairie Sunrise House officially broke ground on a new facility

Jul 13, 2022 | 2:31 PM

Grande Prairie’s Sunrise House Youth Emergency Shelter broke ground on a new facility on 107 Avenue and 110 Street Wednesday.

Executive Director Tanya Wald, says this has been in the works for 13 years but the urgency to get a new facility has never been higher…

“We have officially outgrown our building and more often than not we run out of beds. Currently, we have 12 beds and we run out and so we have nights where we have kids on the couch. We have nights where we’re scrambling and trying to figure it out. We will not turn youth away at the door, if we’re full, we bring them in and we figure it out.”

Wald said staff at Sunrise House did a tremendous job bridging the gaps so kids wouldn’t notice the immediate need.

Another need that will be addressed with this expansion is the Family Support Program which will take a lot of weight off staff and help fight against child homelessness.

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

Charity Neilson, Assistant Executive Director, says this facility will house a much larger Family Support Program.

“When I first started at the Sunrise House we didn’t have a family support program and it was up to the front line staff to work with both the youth and the families and it’s hard to do that.”

“You need someone who can really see both sides, someone who connects strongly with the youth and with the family and then do that really special work. It’s essential for the staff to provide everything they need to do for every kid walking in the door.”

Neilson says supportive families play a major role in limiting child homelessness if it’s rebuilding pre-existing relationships with families or helping youth connect with a new family in a safe space.

This facility will take in children from the city and the region and certainly reduce child homelessness in the area but Sunrise House is also a safe haven for kids all over the northern region.

“We serve everybody north of Edmonton up to Fort Mac. We’ve had kids come from as far as the Northwest Territories. We have a huge undertaking serving the youth in this northern region,” said Neilson.

This new Sunrise House will feature 24 bedrooms and 11 bachelor suites for youth 15 to 24 to help limit child homelessness across the northern region.

Construction is now ongoing and is expected to take 14 months.

Sunrise House is still looking for funding for the additional $1.6 million to build the facility. You can go to the website to donate by clicking here.

Photo Courtesy EverythingGP Staff

Photo of Excutive Director for Grande Prairie Sunrise House Tanya Wald