Salvation Army celebrates 60 years of helping Downtown Eastside

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The Salvation Army is celebrating 60 years of helping the hungry and addicted on the Downtown Eastside through its Harbour Light facility — but now they need some help themselves.

Harbour Light first opened its doors in October of 1953, sheltering the homeless and offering detox and drug and alcohol programs. In its first months, it helped bring 862 people off the streets of Vancouver into some form of housing, many of them going into drug and alcohol treatment.

In the following decades, the Salvation Army says Harbour Light has saved countless lives. It now serves 4500 meals every week to men, women and children and offers close to 100 beds for detox, stabilization and treatment of drug and alcohol addiction along with shelter beds and dozens of low income apartment units.

But Major Judy Regamay, executive director of Harbour Light, says they need a new roof.

“We’ve applied for a few grants but haven’t heard anything about that yet so we’re trying to raise money to get it done,” she tells News1130.

“We’ve had to have it tarped for the last little while but it’s over a building we use 24/7 and it’s used as our cold weather shelter as well, opening in November, so it’s important that we get all that finished so nobody has a pot or pan beside their bed collecting leaks from the roof. We’re asking for some help.”

The Salvation Army hopes to raise enough money for the repairs at a gala event to be held on Thursday and through donations being collected as part of 60th anniversary celebrations. People are being asked to donate $60 or 60 minutes of volunteer time. The goal is to raise $6000 and 60 hours of volunteer time.

“We opened Harbour Light to give people a place to dry out, to live, come off the streets and deal with their addiction and we are still doing the same thing. Sixty years later, there are still people on the street who need to come in out of the rain, who need to deal with housing and their addictions. We have a detox now and a full treatment program, shelter beds — we’ve probably tripled in size since the beginning. I guess that says something about the need around us,” says Regamay.

“I think as long as there’s a Downtown Eastside, there will always be a Harbour Light here. It’s been our pleasure to be a part of this community and it is a work that is so rewarding. People are so appreciative of whatever help we can give them.”

Sixty minutes of volunteer time is enough to serve 400 meals on the food line. Sixty dollars will buy 20 hearty and nutritious meals, 30 pairs of new socks or provide an opportunity for a client to write their GED exam.

You can make an online donation or send a cheque by mail  to Harbour Light, 119 East Cordova Street, Vancouver, BC, V6A 1K8.

To volunteer, contact Marianne Hicks at 604-646-6813 or mhicks@harbourlightbc.com.

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