Summit House is now an ALR Home
August 05, 2021 (Port Coquitlam, BC)-
Fraserside Community Services Society achieved yet another milestone in July this year. Summit House is now registered as an Assisted Living Registered (ALR) home. Established in 2003, the Port Coquitlam-based facility accommodates adults with serious and persistent mental illness. The program provides the opportunity for residents to live in a stabilized home with support so they can successfully live independently.
“Summit House’s transition into an ALR home is a proud moment for us at Fraserside. As an ALR, it gives us the opportunity to help more people who are suffering from mental health issues. We are committed towards creating communities of belonging and providing quality-assured services to persons served,” says Lynda Edmonds, CEO of Fraserside Community Services Society.
Assisted living means a semi-independent housing, with hospitality and assisted living services, for adults who require some support with their day-to-day needs, due to mental health challenges. Summit House will now grow from five persons served to ten. As an ALR, the Summit Program will provide 24-hour support, two daily meals, nursing support, and enhanced programming. The home will also help residents to manage their daily living activities such as budgeting, shopping and preparing meals.
Summit House provides safe and stable housing to residents to help them overcome the challenges they face due to mental illness. Residents are provided with the resources to cope with their mental health problems and become integrated into the community. Resident Nanci lived a life of uncertainty and homelessness before coming to Summit House. “The program helped me with my mental illness. I am doing better; this is the best living arrangement and the happiest I have been in the last 20 years,” claims the 65-year-old, who knows she will never be homeless again. Nanci is currently learning to cook while maintaining a clean and healthy lifestyle. She enjoys going for walks, doing yoga and meditation. “With the help of Summit House, I will have an easier time facing the challenges I will have throughout the rest of my life,” she says with gratitude.
Fraserside now operates three ALR homes: Summit House in Port Coquitlam, Fraserdale in Burnaby, and Bear Creek in Surrey.
About Fraserside Community Services Society
Fraserside Community Services Society is a local non-profit that provides housing, employment and social supports for people facing homelessness, living in poverty, suffering from chronic mental illness, substance use issues and people living with disabilities. On average, we support 1,800 people in New Westminster, Burnaby, Surrey, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Delta each year.
For more information about Fraserside Community Services Society, visit www.fraserside.bc.ca.
Fraserside acknowledges that it works and resides on the traditional and unceded territory of Coast Salish Peoples, including the Qayqayt, Kwikwetlem, Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Kwantlen, and Tsawwassen First Nations.
Media Contact:
Lynda Edmonds, CEO
ledmonds@fraserside.bc.ca
604-522-3722 ext. 116