Future Sunrise House. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

By Curtis Galbraith

Community

New Sunrise House around 50 per cent complete

Apr 13, 2023 | 6:00 AM

Officials say construction of the new Sunrise House Youth Emergency Shelter is about half finished.

The hope is it will be completed by this fall.

Executive Director Tanya Wald says there will be 14 bedrooms with 24 beds on the main floor, along with a kitchen dining area, intake offices, and culture rooms.

The top floor will have 11 housing units to rent, something Wald says will be huge.

“What we often see is our young people being put into independent living too quickly and it breaks down and they end up in homelessness later.”

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“We’ve seen stats that show upwards of 80 per cent who are put in independent living too quickly end up in poverty.”

There would also be a support team in place for these renters with things like paying rent and buying groceries.

Sunrise House executive director Tanya Wald talking about the 11 rental units on the top floor of the new facility. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

The basement will include recreation space, offices, a music room, family support rooms, and a youth hub. It will have computers set up for things like job searches.

The main floor will also feature a quiet space called Katia’s Room, Wald says it is named after a former resident who committed suicide.

“It was a room that we wanted to create, and we sat down with her mom and said we want her to be part of this space and it just evolved. It made sense to create this room in her honour.”

The future Katia’s Room. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

Wald adds demand for their services is high with an average of 120 intakes each year.

“What happens is often, because we have so few beds and the way we’re set up, is we run out of beds in terms of either male beds or female beds quite often. This way, the way we are set up (in the new shelter), we can kind of flow (through).”

“We’re very limited provide in terms of what we can provide in terms of programming and different services in the (current) building because we’re in one spot.”

Wald says they have what they call the kitchen table at the current shelter where they do everything from training and meetings, to intakes and homework.

Wald adds that lack of space means some young people find it easier to couch surf or be somewhere other than the shelter.

This spot on the main floor will become a cultural and prayer room. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

Local news people were given a tour of the new facility on Wednesday.

This will become the main floor that will include bedrooms along with a kitchen and dining area, among other things. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.

There will also be a backyard on the west side of the new Sunrise House. Photo by Curtis Galbraith.