In a perfect world, Sunshine Coast Community Services Society (SCCSS) will be ready to welcome women and children into its new housing project by fall of 2026.
But a pragmatic Catherine Leach, the society’s executive director, suspects a more likely date will be spring of 2027.
“But you know, all the heavy lifting is done now. Everything's in place. It just needs to get built,” says Leach. “So, barring any significant complication, we should be on track to turn this place into homes pretty quickly.”
Once complete, the Building Together project, a six-storey development in downtown Sechelt, will include 35 safe, secure and affordable housing units for single women, and women with children, who have experienced or are vulnerable to experiencing violence.
The project budget is $34 million, of which more than 90 per cent has been secured. Last May, 50 Women for SCCSS launched a fundraising campaign with a goal to raise $1.5 million of the project’s $3.4 million funding gap.
Also in May, the District of Sechelt approved a $1 million donation towards the project, followed by a $3.1 million donation from the federal government in October. That same day in October, RBC Foundation donated $200,000 to support the installation of essential accessibility features, “ensuring the building is welcoming and functional for individuals of all abilities.”
Bringing the 50 Women fundraising initiative even closer to its goal, just last week the building’s developer, Western Canadian Properties Group (WCPG), donated $30,000. Jim Ferrie, chief operating officer of WCPG, and David Steele, chief executive officer of WCPG, were on hand to present the cheque.
"We are deeply honoured to contribute to a project that will make such a profound difference in the lives of women and children on the Sunshine Coast,” Steele said in a press release. “Being part of building not just a structure, but a future filled with hope and opportunity, is incredibly meaningful to all of us at WCPG."
The 50 Women campaign officially ended Dec. 31, but Leach says donations are still coming in. A postal strike, which lasted from Nov. 15 to Dec. 16, impacted many non-profit organizations and charities, which often receive year-end donations by mail. The 50 Women campaign was no exception, says Leach.
“We broke ground. Hope to start framing by February. So right now, we're going through all the archeological sifting, but we're hoping to get a foundation down in the next couple of weeks,” says Leach. “In terms of the capital campaign, we've secured a little bit more than 90 per cent of the funding. It's a $34 million project. We have a $3 million gap now that we're closing. As for the 50 Women capital campaign, we should have a total on that in the next month or so.”
Leach adds that while the campaign might be over, the website will remain active for the next six months for anyone who would like to donate. She notes the society is incredibly grateful and overwhelmed with the community response to the project.
“This is a small community and we're an organization that doesn't have a history of a lot of fundraising, but we've been here for 50 years and I guess those relationships are really deep and the community has come through in a really big way to support this project,” said Leach. “Just like the donation from WCPG really speaks to everybody who's involved in this project and cares about what's happening. It's not just about a building, it’s really is about the people whose lives will be changed because we're doing this development. And I think this donation really speaks to that.”
