Establishing “a brand new start” for the Sparrow’s Hope shelter for women fleeing abusive relationships will be discussed at a meeting in Barrhead on Monday, June 23.
Barrhead and Westlock residents are invited to the meeting, which will begin at 7 p.m. in the Barrhead Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) office at 5115 45 Street.
Heidi Magus, who serves as a family outreach worker at the Barrhead FCSS office, is acting as an advisor to the process of re-launching Sparrow’s Hope.
The shelter first opened in the spring of 2011, and was housed in the County of Barrhead.
It was run as a faith-based initiative by the Westlock Youth for Christ Centre, though the two operations were kept separate.
However, the facility closed last August and the building is now being sold by its previous owner, said Magus. As well, the executive of the Youth for Christ Centre can no longer handle the running of the facility.
“They’ve got their hands full with the youth and they just can’t put the amount of dedicated time that (Sparrow’s Hope) needs,” she said.
Magus said there will be a number of business items that need to be taken care of before Sparrow’s Hope can be re-open, such as recruiting volunteers to serve on a board of directors.
As well, the June 23 meeting will be used to brainstorm ideas for a new facility located either in Barrhead or Westlock.
“This would basically be a brand new start for Sparrow’s Hope,” said Magus.
Magus said the hope is to have the shelter become its own entity, operated entirely independent of the Westlock Youth for Christ Centre.
“Literally, we are starting one of the very beginning parts of the organization,” she said.
Regarding funding, Magus said that will be one of the items the new board will look at.
She noted the province does dedicate some sustainable funding for women’s shelters, but they have to be aligned with the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters and meet a number of standards.
Magus noted they held a meeting in Westlock a couple weeks ago regarding the shelter. About seven people attended, mostly from Barrhead, and “a good number of people” have RSVP’ed about attending the June 23 meeting.
“It looks like there is going to be a good turnout of people from both Barrhead and Westlock,” she said.
Magus indicated that future meetings about the shelter will likely alternate between Barrhead and Westlock.
Anyone planning to attend is asked to RSVP by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 780-349-6464.
