Plans for second-stage housing project are underway for Wellspring

By Serena Lapointe

 Wellspring Family Resource & Crisis Centre was a busy place last year, housing those
in need for all but eleven days out of 364. “There weren’t many days where we didn’t
have somebody in there,” said Executive Director Rebecca Wells, during a Town
Council presentation last week.
“We had 88 women and 77 children come through our emergency shelter. The frontline
workers were very busy,” she said. Last year alone, staff gave support through the 24/7
crisis line for over 38,000 minutes. Not only do staff support those at the shelter, but
they also support clients through outreach programs, which were used by 138 adults
and 74 youth last year. “You don’t have to be in the shelter to access those programs,
which I think is really good,” said Wells, noting that men can also access off-site support
and have even been sheltered elsewhere when needed.
Two years ago, the eleven-bed shelter became a 22-bed shelter thanks to a $1.2 million
grant from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Renovations to the
space included a new kitchen. “It has a beautiful fridge and freezer combo that they built
the whole kitchen around. We are lucky to have a board that thought that was a great
idea because I definitely know the clients really appreciate it,” she said.
Ten years ago, the Wellspring board began talking about opening a second-stage
shelter, a project that didn’t end up coming to fruition, though it certainly wasn’t for lack
of effort on the board’s side. It was ballooning costs that did it in. “In 2020, we
announced that we were going to build it. We got some funding. Then, COVID
happened, and no one planned for that. We had some downtime where costs really
escalated. It went from 15 million dollars to 23.5 million dollars, and we were $500,000
short.”
Wells said that interest rates went up, and the board finally decided it was time to pull
the plug on the project. “It was hard, as a director and staff, and obviously for the board,
because they’re the ones that had to make that decision to pull it. We haven’t really said
why this happened, and I guess that was because we were trying to figure out what we
would do next.”
Then, a building behind the current shelter, a fourplex, came up for sale, and the board
jumped on it, purchasing it two years ago and renovating it into a third-stage shelter
where clients could be on their own and self-sufficient. “We did some really nice
renovations in there to make it look aesthetically pleasing and make it feel like a home
for the individuals that are in there,” said Wells.

Once clients were in and using the space, Wells said the board started to discuss what
they could do next. In January last year, conversations began on the prospect of
building a facility near their current site. As the ball started to roll, they were successful
in snagging $75,000 in seed funding to get renderings and plans in place.
Then, another grant, this time for $60,000, was nabbed through From Path to Place,
one of only three projects accepted into the program, which will collect data from them
as they go through the building process. “They are going to take what we are learning.
We will be able to give back to other people to say, what went good and what didn’t, and
what we learned.”
Next, a bigger cheque came, propelling the project forward. “We were successful in
getting Alberta’s Affordable Housing Partnership Program through the Minister of
Assisted Living and Social Services for $2,132,865. That’s 33 percent of our project.
That’s very exciting news for Whitecourt to see that the province believes in us again
and thinks we can get this done, and we’re going to get this done,” smiled Wells. “There
were 16 shelters in the province that had their funding cut, and we were not one of
them. So, obviously, we’re doing some good work and the province recognizes the work
we are doing.”
Permits are now in with the Town of Whitecourt to start construction, and Wells said they
hope to get going either as early as this fall or next spring. She said they also plan on
applying for more dollars through Build Canada for more CMHC dollars now that the
province has put dollars into the project. “The White House, as I call it, we are going to
tear that down. I’ll be the first one to hit it with a hammer,” chuckled Wells, speaking of
the small home that they purchased in December, beside the fourplex, the future site of
their multi-level shelter.
The build will feature flexible suites, with some units able to open up into each other,
allowing for larger families to be connected. The bottom floor will be a community space
for residents. “I think community is a big thing that’s missing in a lot of these houses.
You see it more, even with seniors housing, going towards more of this (shared spaces).
So we have a room that we’re going to call the Community Ceremonial Room, which will
be really exciting because clients will finally be able to smudge. We can’t smudge in our
current building because the fire alarm will get set off.”
The build will also feature a community kitchen, play area, two office spaces and
storage for clients to put bikes or larger items away safely. “Very intentional design. The
first floor will be accessible, and it will also have an elevator. The architect really listened
to what we wanted.” They are calling it a Safe Housing Continuum. “It’ll be 12 new
second-stage units, roughly 15,000 square feet. Our projected cost is seven million. The
renovations for the four-unit fourplex are about one million, so the total cost is about
eight million,” added Wells.

Mayor Ray Hilts congratulated the Wellspring team on their hard work. “This is
absolutely fantastic. Congratulations. That’s a lot of work to get to that point.” Councillor
Tara Baker agreed. “You could’ve sat here for two hours and still not capture every
single thing that you guys do. To have a women’s shelter in our community serves not
just our own residents, but I know that sometimes other people have to go to a different
community, and I would say that you guys do an exceptional job of caring for individuals
in their worst moments.”
Mayor Hilts said the work done not only at the shelter but in the educational component
they offer to schools is important. “When I look at our regular police reports and updates
on crime and policing in our community, domestic violence by far continues to be a
challenge for the community. So, thank you for the work you, your board and your staff
do.”