Our Town's Men's Shelter

 The work progresses pretty well. We had a lot of hold ups over the last three years, but things are now happening! The side of the church lost it's 150 year old spruce tree because of the trenching required for the new sewer attachment. We have been working to get the landscaping back to acceptable levels. Various companies donated the wood chips for mulch around the bushes and the top soil next to the pathway. As a lawn cutter I was happy to see a very low maintenance result.

Unfortunately, the grass will not get to grow this year. However, with a fall seeding it should have a good start in the spring.

 The footings are in and the crew is busy installing the floor joists. The crawlspace is 4 feet deep and will handle the heating ducts and electrical.

 It was some fun stripping the siding and insulation of the building! It involved working off a ladder up to 18 feet high with many trips up and down the ladder. The Styrofoam insulation was salvaged and used to  insulate the crawl space. Our hope is to get the walls up and the roof on before the snow flies. It is a tight schedule.

A lot of people ask why  the need for a men's shelter in Whitecourt and in Alberta. We accommodated 3 people per night at a local hotel for the last few winters. A lot of them were down on their luck or  in transition and living out of their cars. It is hoped that with this project we can transition people that are not only down and out locally, but also from places like the Hope Mission, and Teen Challenge in Edmonton.

The unit will have rooms for five people, a kitchen and common area. The shelter is called Lorne's Blanket. Lorne was the son of a lady who attends our church and who died of exposure in the 30- 40 below zero temperatures that we experience. Hopefully we can aid in avoiding more situations like that.

It keeps a few of us busy and out of trouble.