Souls Harbour Rescue Mission’s drop-in center in Sydney Mines, N.S., celebrated its first anniversary on Feb. 26. Now, the not-for-profit will open a second Cape Breton location in New Waterford.
Alana MacLellan, the manager of the Sydney Mines drop-in centre, said the organization closed a deal for a new building, which was the former home of the Lions Club, on Tuesday.
“For us, it’s less about expansion and more about serving people and meeting needs,” said MacLellan. “And we know that the needs are so great.”
The New Waterford location comes after a needs assessment in the community last summer.
“We were looking for 50 people a day, and we were close to 150 people a day, so we really do need Souls Harbour here in our town,” said Cape Breton Regional Municipality Councillor Darren O’Quinn, whose district represents New Waterford and surrounding communities.
O’Quinn said he has seen the difference the drop-in centre in Sydney Mines has made in just a year and, with poverty rates in his community among the highest in Nova Scotia, the help can’t come soon enough.
“They’re going to do the same thing here,” O’Quinn said. “We’re looking to hire local people here as well, so people see a familiar face when they come through the doors.”
Souls Harbour said the former Lions Club building in New Waterford has what they need in terms of kitchen and dining space and doesn’t need any major renovations.
The next step is hiring a manager and cook for the location and finding volunteers.
Souls Harbour volunteers in Sydney Mines are already collecting clothing for the FreeMart planned for the New Waterford location.
When asked if the not-for-profit will expand to even more Cape Breton communities, MacLellan said, as of right now, there are no specific plans.
If everything goes to plan, the New Waterford location will open to the public sometime in April.
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