After relocating to a new home at 341 Main Street, the community gave thanks and celebrated with what seemed like half the town’s populace.
“Light and mission that is Homesfires,” said Rev. Russell Elliott, who was on board in 1981 when the community began.
Jean Vanier, who founded a network of more than 140 L'Arche communities in 40 countries, sent greetings from France.
Offering congratulations, Vanier said the realization of the Building Our Dream campaign was a reminder that everyone should be included for the gifts they can bring to our ever more fragile world.
Board chair Sandy Fraser called the building project a response to the need expressed by a core member for a completely accessible building to allow for full participation in all our activities.
Now “our day programs can now be under one roof, so core members can benefit from better facilities and greater interaction. Finally, we now have a building that can accommodate our whole community so we can celebrate and enjoy social activities together,” said Fraser.
“The project garnered support from a wide spectrum: close to 700 individuals, foundations; corporations and all four levels of government,” he noted. It is a testament to our society’s recognition of the importance of caring for the most vulnerable among us. It is time to celebrate a dream come true.”
“This is an incredible community,” said Kings Hants MP Scott Brison, “and this is an incredible component of it. L’Arche helps make Wolfville better. It was out of the way, around the corner. Now by town hall it is exactly where it ought to be.”
Premier Stephen McNeil called the three-storey redevelopment “such a magnificent beacon of inclusion.”
L’Arche regional representative Jen Power stated that if there’s one thing we know about L’Arche we’re about making what seems impossible possible so we can truly be ourselves.
Architect Sydney Dumaresq listed all the service providers who donated their skills to the redevelopment and added, “I’d do it all over again.”
L’Arche Assistant Joseph Peters indicated, “This building allows for new opportunities. It is a fresh start. As the programs share space together we are all learning better ways to communicate, problem solve and I am looking forward to possibilities of collaborating more.”
The journey lived in the Building Our Dream campaign, said director Ingrid Blais, has produced so much for our community. We have learned a great deal about fundraising and were successful in raising significant funds. But even more importantly our circle of friends has grown so much.
“The excitement in the local community and the support we have received is very humbling and reflects a community which values diversity. The best part for me was when my friend Krystle on day one in the new building came up in the elevator in her wheelchair to visit me and to check out the view from the third floor.”
Converting the former church hall into a multipurpose home for L'Arche Homefires took some work. The former parish hall was gutted and rebuilt from the plumbing to the walls, which involved a $2.6-million fundraising campaign. It took five years.
Did you know?
L’Arche Homefires is part of the International Federation of Communities of L’Arche. It is one of five L’Arche Communities in the Atlantic Region. Homefires is termed an intentional community where people with and without disabilities live together creating home, working together and building relationships with the intention of making the world a better place.
Homefires were founded in 1981 by Jeff and Debbie Moore, John McNeil and Keith Strong. From that beginning it has grown into a community which now includes five homes supporting 19 people, an independent living program which supports five people as well as three diverse day programs (Applewicks, Cornerstone and Discoveries) supporting 26 people. Homefires employs about 75 people.
