It hasn't slowed down at the Little House since the grand opening in June.
The Little House Society has turned its attention to fulfilling its primary mission - reducing and preventing the harm associated with substance abuse, and to support the efforts of abstinence-based recovery through the collaboration, education and facilitation with community stakeholders.
A number of activities are already underway or in the planning stages for the Little House on Tsawwassen's 12th Avenue:
. Seven recovery groups are now holding a total of 15 weekly meetings in the new facility. This means more than 700 people are using the house to work on healing themselves. More than half of these people are family members and others who have been affected by someone else's addiction.
. A facilities committee has been established to oversee the smooth operation of the Little House and Dell Spencer is acting as the rental manager on behalf of the society. The three meeting rooms in the facility are available not only to recovery support groups, but also to nonprofits, associations and corporate groups that wish to hold meetings or training events. For example, Thrifty Foods in Tsawwassen is currently holding training sessions in the new facility.
For more information on rental rates and a description of the rooms, email Spencer at dell@ littlehousesociety. ca.
. The Little House Society will be engaging the services of Dr. Colin Mangham to undertake a scan of community services in South Delta. The society will work with other community partners to identify any gaps in services so it can ensure the needs of all are being met when it comes to the harm caused by substance abuse.
. The second "Heart of a Mother" workshop is scheduled for Oct. 13 and 20. The workshop is for mothers and grandmothers struggling with the addiction of a child or grandchild. Details are still to be confirmed, but anyone interested can email Nancy Lee at [email protected].
At last count, 120 businesses have supported the Little House Society with donations of products and services and more than 200 individuals have made financial donations. The society still needs to raise $10,000 to complete its capital campaign and is hopeful the money will be realized in the next few weeks. People making financial donations can still receive tax receipts.
Little House Society president Jim Stimson said he is delighted to see things coming together.
"I am confident that in the coming months we will be able to make considerable progress in fulfilling our mandate and in meeting our commitment to provide valuable services to the communities of South Delta.
"We have a beautiful new facility that we can all take pride in. Many different people in the community really stepped up to help us. I want to take this opportunity to thank one person in particular, Glenn McLeod, who was the project manager overseeing construction. Without Glenn's knowledge, dedication and guidance, we would not have been able to get the job done as efficiently and effectively as we did."
The original Little House served as a meeting place for recovery and support groups for almost three decades before it was destroyed by fire in 2009. Shortly after the fire a capital campaign began to rebuild the facility. Ground was broken in June of 2011 and the official opening took place a year later.
To make a donation, or for a tour of the new facility, contact Stimson at 778-887-1828 or jim@ littlehousesociety.ca.
