Covenant House gets $5M from province
The first phase of a project to expand Covenant House Vancouver is set to begin this fall, after a $5-million payment from the B.C. government announced Wednesday.
The funding will be added to the $10 million that Covenant House has raised for a new 21,820-squarefoot building at 530 Drake Street. It will include offices, 14 crisis beds for homeless and vulnerable youth, and a drop-in centre where youth can access health care.
Construction on the first phase of the expansion is expected to be completed in February 2019 and will cost $15 million.
Minister Responsible for Housing Rich Coleman said: “We hope that the completion of this project will lessen the demand for youth services and bring about positive outcomes for youth who need transitional and supportive housing.”
The downtown site of the new building was the former home of the Immigrant Services Society of B.C.
B.C. Housing gave Covenant House an interest-free loan for the land. The entire project will include three phases, and once completed in late 2020 or early 2021 it is estimated that it will cost about $38 million.
Covenant House opened its doors in Vancouver in the fall of 1997 and was among the first agencies to provide short-term transitional housing for street youth. Now, more than 1,300 youth a year attend the house for support, counselling, housing and education.
Stephanie Cadieux, minister of Children and Family Development, said the expanded facility will make a “difference in young lives.”
“Government is proud to help support Covenant House Vancouver in their goal to ensure that vulnerable young people in our province have access to the supports and services they need to build the life that they deserve — whether that be a safe place to sleep at night, mental-health and substance-use counselling, or help finding work or training opportunities,” she said.
Covenant House executive director Krista Thompson said the provincial funding has allowed Phase 1 of the project to go ahead.
“Providing much-needed additional services and space to Vancouver’s homeless will enable them to transition on to lives full of health, happiness and independence,” she said.