Local and provincial officials dug in at the future site of a Creighton group home for people with intellectual differences earlier this week.
Members of a Christian non-profit, local officials and a Saskatchewan MLA planted the first shovels in at 201 Collins Crescent May 8, the future site of a two-floor group home project. The project, several years in the making, took a step forward earlier this year with the support of SaskHousing and Ontario-based non-profit Christian Horizons, who will be tasked with operating the home.
Provincial social services minister Gene Makowsky was invited to the opening ceremony, but did not appear at the opening - instead came Melfort MLA Todd Goudy, who represented the provincial government at the ceremony. Following an opening prayer by members of Christian Horizons, Goudy gave opening remarks on behalf of the province.
“It’s a beautiful day to see an organization like Christian Horizons working with the provincial government, the community and on the behalf of all the people in the Creighton area,” he said.
“I think the prayer in the beginning was very fitting. Knowing the cultural background of Saskatchewan and of Canada, it’s to look after one another and to do unto others as we would want them doing unto us.”
Councillor Anita Rainville spoke on behalf of Creighton town council.
“Today’s partnership has brought these dreams to reality. We welcome you to our community and we look forward to strengthening our partnership through the coming years,” she said.
Stefan Thomas, the Saskatchewan executive director for Christian Horizons, was on hand for the announcement. The organization he helps run operates homes and programs for people with intellectual differences throughout the province, but not in the north until now - he said the group had wanted to get involved in Creighton for years, but the timing wasn’t right until recently.
“We first became aware of the desire for group home services in Creighton back in 2017 or 2018. We actually came up and did a visit, saw the community, just to get a feel for things. We realized on that trip, with it being six hours from our nearest services, that just wasn't the right time for us to put our name forward as a potential provider,” he said.
“When the Ministry of Social Services put forward a request for tenders again, we were in a different position and we were growing our services in the north. We were able to respond to that and so that's how we got involved. We're just thrilled to be here. It's a beautiful community. We've been so welcomed.”
Building plans obtained by The Reminder show the structure’s current state will be a two-story building almost 220 square metres (more than 2,300 square feet) in size, located at 201 Collins Crescent. The building will include five bedrooms on the main floor and two on the second floor with larger suites, along with an in-built garage, entry ports and a communal kitchen, dining area and living room, among other amenities. Job postings relating to the centre have already been circulated by Christian Horizons for the new home.
“The folks who live in the main part of the house will require 24-hour support. We'll provide that support, whether that's support at home, doing activities, daily living, cooking, cleaning, all that kind of stuff, or getting out into the community and getting jobs, whatever it is that folks are looking for support, we'll be doing that,” said Thomas.
“Upstairs, the folks will be more independent. They'll rent their apartments and we'll come into their space and provide supports or help them get out into the community and access things they need.”
Thomas hesitated to give a timetable for when construction might finish on the building - documents obtained during the tendering process point toward a goal date of spring or summer 2024, but whether those plans have stayed the same is unclear.
