L'Arche Stratford is set to hold a grand opening of its new facility in Stratford.
L'Arche serves adults with developmental disabilities, and the new building at 426 Britannia Street in Stratford will have a ribbon cutting on November 7.
Stephanie Calma, Executive Director at L'Arche, says the capital campaign, called Be, Belong, Become, had a $6.5 million goal, and the community helped to reach that goal along with all levels of government.
"The community has responded with some significant donations towards the project, as well, so we're deeply grateful to be at this juncture and to be realizing a finished building," Calma said proudly.
The official ribbon cutting will be on November 7 at 11 a.m. with tours to follow. Calma says the new 15,000 square foot building includes eight living units for people that L'Arche assists. She shares that having so much community support was extremely special
"We had the opportunity to take some of our donors through the building about halfway through the build project. It was a really special moment to have some of those donors and funding partners to look at the building and see where their dollars are contributing," Calma added.
On top of the eight living spaces that all feature rental rates that benefit the people they serve, the building also features some other needed upgrades for L'Arche, too.
"It's something that meets both our administrative needs, as well as some housing and some growth in terms of programming. That's really exciting for a lot of the members who have contributed from the community," Calma pointed out.
Calma says the goal is to have the building be mortgage free, so that rent payments can be rolled over into even more improvements.
"Currently, some of our rental spaces will turn into funds that go into the organization that we can turn over. So, there is a sustainability part for us. But on top of that, so many of the people we support, housing instability is significant," she shared.
With more housing needed for people that L'Arche serves, Calma says the hope is that more opportunities to develop housing units present themselves in the near future.
You can find out more about L'Arche Stratford, the work they do and the people they serve by visiting https://larchestratford.ca/.
