Executives with Sunrise House Youth Emergency Shelter in Grande Prairie have asked Grande Prairie City Council for $500,000 in funding to help out with the costs of building a new facility.
Executive Director Tanya Wald says since opening their doors in 2003, the intake has changed dramatically, and that has had numerous, and negative trickle-down effects.
“Our current facility is quite aged, and literally we’ve run out of space. We have 12 beds that spread across five bedrooms and we have one floor, so any kind of programming or intake, it all takes place on one floor.”
“We have concerns around security and safety, if someone comes in, everyone knows they’re there and everyone sees them.”
Wald says while they have raised over $1 million of their own through a private donation, the cash they’re looking for will have one purpose only.
“These asks will get our building built and will get us in there and operating, and that’s really what we are focused on right now. We have also been having conversations about funding and sustainability and that’s not far from our minds.”
She adds the organization has also requested similar amounts of money from both the County of Grande Prairie and MD of Greenview. City councillors moved for the request to be added to their budget deliberation sessions which are scheduled for November 13-15th.