Around Town: Jean Vanier, L’Arche plans, Porter’s Gate, Streetohome . . .

Jean Vanier, the 90 year old founder of L’Arche Community and Faith and Light, died May 7 in Paris. Vanier had suffered a heart attack in October 2017, was battling cancer and was receiving palliative care.

He lived until recently at the small L’Arche home in Trosly-Breuil (Oise, France).

Vanier was the author of some 30 books, a member of the Order of Canada, winner of the Templeton Prize and member of France’s Legion of Honor, but he was perhaps best known as a kind of village elder to the world.

In a statement, Vancouver Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, said:

Jean Vanier was a man of great vision rooted in the Gospel of Christ’s love for the little ones and the marginalized. The inspiration he provided through the foundation of L’Arche has touched the lives of countless people. The world is certainly a gentler place because of his life and witness.

Vanier permanently changed the fate of intellectually disabled people everywhere by demonstrating how the care of a community could open lives to meaning, joy, hope and trust – not just the lives of the disabled, but the lives also of those who live with them and care for them.

Go here for the full article.

We All Belong

Plans for the new L’Arche building in Burnaby.

While L’Arche Greater Vancouver is sharing memories of its founder with the general public, it is also looking ahead to creating a new home for their work.

Their recent press release described plans for a new three-storey building:

The “We All Belong” campaign to build a new $30-million facility for L’Arche Greater Vancouver launched April 8, with several donations announced.

Audrey Staudacher, president of the L’Arche Foundation of Greater Vancouver said that B.C. Housing had made a $6.1 million grant. Burnaby’s acting mayor Colleen Jordan said that the city was donating approximately $1 million in kind and fees saved with potentially more to follow.

L’Arche Greater Vancouver is dedicated to creating homes and day programs in which people with and without developmental disabilities live, work and discover faith together. At the kick-off event, L’Arche’s executive director and community leader Denise Haskett described the new three-story home as the organization’s most ambitious dream in its 45-year history.

“With almost half the money already in place, we only have $15-million left to raise,” said Haskett. “It doesn’t sound like that much does it?” . . .

The new L’Arche building will be on the current site at 7401 Sussex Avenue in Burnaby. The 52,000-square-foot building will provide three large L’Arche homes containing 22 bedrooms; expanded community inclusion program space and administrative offices.

In addition there will be 10 suites for those who can live more independently, and 29 units of below-market rental suites. The fully accessible building also features a secure underground parkade with 62 stalls, a large central courtyard that faces a park and a roof top that will feature gardens, a multi-purpose room and a chapel.

“Our goal is to raise $15-million so the new building can be occupied in 2021 debt- and mortgage-free. This will enable us to direct more time and resources to serving the community,” said Staudacher. “We are grateful for everyone’s support to help us realize our dream.”

Go here for a story and pictures about L’Arche’s plans by Randy Murray, communications officer for the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster.

Audrey Assad and Latifah Alattas led several of the songs for Porter’s Gate.

A chapel full of us were treated to a wonderful evening of worship and teaching last week at Regent College. Members of the Porter’s Gate Worship Project led us in songs from their first two albums, the second of which had been completed just the day before, here in Vancouver.

Northwest view at corner of Cordova and Princess of Union Gospel Mission’s proposed new Women and Families Centre. Rendering NSDA Architects

Streetohome has signed grant agreements for the new UGM Women and Families Centre and the redevelopment of Salvation Army’s Vancouver Harbour Light.

Homelessness prevention is a strong focus for Streetohome and our current efforts are directed at filling gaps in the homelessness service system with sustainable solutions.

As we forge ahead with our projects in 2019, we are pleased to announce that we have started fundraising for two new Addiction Recovery Community Housing (ARCH) projects – the Union Gospel Mission Women and Families Centre; and the redevelopment of Salvation Army’s Vancouver Harbour Light, which will include a Recovery Community Centre, the first of its kind in Canada.

As the current addiction recovery system stands, many individuals fall through the cracks in between detox and recovery, and may find themselves lost during their transitions between the stages of recovery that may include: withdrawal management, live-in/outpatient treatment, recovery housing and continuing self-care.

The Addiction Recovery Community Housing (ARCH) model addresses these gaps by providing a one-stop shop for a full continuum of care, including: Early Recovery Housing, Addiction Treatment Housing, Recovery Supportive Housing and a Recovery Community Centre. It aims to provide recovery pathways that address the housing, health and employment goals of the individual; while optimizing the use of limited and expensive health care resources; and improving access and navigation through the system.

As always, our work would not be possible without the solid collaboration of our partners – BC Housing, the City of Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health – and the amazing generosity of our donors.

Streetohome “was incubated in Vancouver Foundation in 2008. Seed funding was provided by Vancouver Foundation, City of Vancouver and the Province of British Columbia. Since inception, Streetohome has contributed more than $31 million from the private sector to leverage (often 10:1) sustainable solutions to homelessness.”