Youth in the Cowichan Valley now have a safe space to go if they’re in crisis or feeling overwhelmed day or night.
A new facility opened on Apr. 4 on Hemlock Road. It’s funded by Coldest Night of the Year, the provincial government and the Mischa Weisz Foundation to help support kids from 15 to 18 years of age.
The house will make sure kids who are at risk of homelessness, harm or in crisis have a place to access vital services including a bedroom to make them feel safe.
Minister of Children and Family Development Jodie Wickens says the opening of the shelter has been a long time coming, and she adds this could be the start of several homes opening across the province.
“With the opening of this shelter, the most vulnerable youth in the Cowichan Valley will have a safe place to turn, day or night, when they find themselves with nowhere to go,” she says. “This home is another important resource to keep Cowichan youth safer by connecting them to the supports they need when they need them.”
Former BC Green Party leader Sonia Furstenau says this has been a project which has been dear to her for quite some time, and after advocating she’s thrilled to see it become a reality.
“Over the years, I raised this issue in the legislature, often in budget estimates with ministers to push how much of a need there was for a youth emergency shelter here in Cowichan,” she says. “I took that right to the premier’s office, and all that work which has been done with all the partners, that made it possible for this project to get to where it is today.”
Guido Weisz, the founder of the Weisz Foundation, generously donated $450,000 to help pay off the mortgage for the shelter and purchase a van to provide outreach to youth in Duncan and the surrounding community.
Weisz says the donation was to build on a legacy that his brother, who died of pancreatic cancer, set out to help youth who are disadvantaged.
“He wanted to help youth, kids in particular, get out of their situation,” he says. “He didn’t want to just put band-aids on it, he wanted to help empower them and help them move out of their situation.”
According to the province, the donation and facility will help transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable young people in the Cowichan Valley.
