The new home for Save Our Young Adults – SOYA – at 179 Gore St. officially opened with a celebration Thursday, but will open its doors to clients on March 8.
“It's overwhelming in a good way," said Connie Raynor-Elliott, founder and president.
"The Sault deserves this. It's a beautiful space and I'm so grateful to all of our volunteers, to everybody that helped out. This is such a huge thing to happen for our city.”
A non-profit corporation, SOYA was formed 14 years ago to guide individuals battling addictions to the right supports while also providing food, clothing, a cup of coffee and an ear to listen.
The new SOYA location at 179 Gore St. is much needed as the group’s former location at 178-180 Gore St. had more than its share of problems.
“We needed a place to go. We lost heat two years ago and last winter wasn't too bad but this winter was really challenging. We used electric heaters but we couldn't use those anymore. Then we had water damage,” Raynor-Elliott told reporters.
The building at 179 Gore St. was purchased in December.
Video by Drew Armstrong
With support from the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board, SOYA acquired the space and then fundraising efforts started for $20,000 in repairs.
That included some demolition work, paint and flooring.
With help from many community businesses, over $50,000 was raised.
SooToday readers donated $12,580 to SOYA’s cause.
The new SOYA space is smaller than the group’s former location but more comfortable for its clients and a more efficient base of operations for SOYA’s team of 43 volunteers, Raynor-Elliott said.
“We're not going to stock housewares anymore but we’re going to have the essentials like personal hygiene items and food bags.
"We’re going to have lots of conversations with clients such as ‘do you need help with housing? Let me be there to help you with housing. Do you want to go to treatment? Let's get you to where you need to be.' What we do is try to bridge the gap.”
Freezers and a kitchen space are available at the new location for those in need.
“It's for serving. Nothing actually gets cooked here. We get food from places like Metro Northern Avenue and Harvest Algoma,” Raynor-Elliott said.
Winter clothing essentials are available for those who need them and include jackets, hats, gloves, boots, blankets and sleeping bags.
“It has heat. Literally, it has heat. It's more comfortable,” Raynor-Elliott said of SOYA’s new location.
“People are going to have places where they can actually sit down. The building's not done yet but we needed to open it up though. We needed to get it open because people need a place to go. It's safer and we have a phone line. We have simple things that we take for granted but others don't have.”
SOYA’s efforts to help others pay off, she said.
“We have a lot of success stories. I'm just going to pick out one. She was struggling for over 14 years and today is the day she actually celebrates nine months sober. We have a lot of success stories like that. It's a matter of keeping them alive, getting them the services that they need.”
SOYA’s hours of operation are currently 11 a.m to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Because St. Vincent Place is open Saturdays, Raynor-Elliott said SOYA is considering closing Saturdays and opening Sundays.
“We live in a great community. This would have never been done without the community support and the people that stepped forward were amazing. I’m grateful and I'm a firm believer that if everybody works together, we can conquer anything and everything,” Raynor-Elliott said.
While SOYA is not currently accepting any more donated winter clothing, donations of food, personal hygiene products and monetary donations are always welcome, Raynor-Elliott said.
Thursday’s event was attended by Mayor Matthew Shoemaker and representatives from many local businesses.