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SCACL's Rosecliffe Home celebrates newfound accessibility with ramp opening

The opening of Rosecliffe Home's accessibility ramp also marks the completion of Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living's $100,000 Accessibility Enhancement Project.
Bronwyn Beairsto, Editor
Bronwyn Beairsto, Editor

Residents, staff, and visitors of all abilities can now access Sunshine Coast Association for Community Living (SCACL)’s Rosecliffe Staff Supported Home from the front door. 

SCACL held the grand opening for its new accessible ramp to Rosecliffe Home and celebrated the completion of its $100,000 Accessibility Enhancement Project on June 16. 

The project, funded through the federal government, also saw the addition of automatic door openers at SCACL’s Mermaid Street office and three other staff-supported homes in Sechelt as well as the upgrading of two fully accessible washrooms. 

Rosecliffe Home is one of five staff-supported, SCACL-operated permanent homes for people with developmental disabilities, said executive director Clarence Li, a service that’s funded through Community Living British Columbia. 

The June 16 opening included a welcome and Chief Dan George poem reading from hiwus (Calvin Craigan), enthusiastic words from Li and a heartfelt speech from Rosecliffe program coordinator Kate Pirillo. 

“Before I came to SCACL I never thought about anyone else's need for accessibility or even put thought into the idea that there's physical accessibility, mental accessibility and how one small change can make all the difference to this one individual," Pirillo told the crowd. "Working with the individuals who live here at Rosecliffe has changed the way I look at everything. It has changed the way I look at myself.”

Pirillo pointed out just a few accessibility considerations on the Coast: parking, roads with tripping hazards like potholes, snow clearing and beach access. “A big part of our community cannot access the beach,” she pointed out, “and being at the beach can be so therapeutic.

“I challenge you to think about these examples in your everyday life. Think about what we can do going forward to make the Coast accessible for everyone in every way.”

Pirillo thanked the federal government as well as Gibsons Building Supplies and Spani Development for their further donations and contributions to the project.