Our speaker was Violet Hayes and she is a director of Samaritan House.  She has been married for 36 years and has four children and three grandchildren.  Samaritan House is a place refuge for women of all ages and  it has been operating since early 1980's.  Originally it was for everyone but in 2008, New Hope opened for men so Samaritan House is currently just for women.  It is in a 100 year old three story house where they have space and mobility issues.  They have purchased a lot next door to the current site and have started to work on expansion.  About 12 to 18 months ago they realized they were not getting ahead and were still turning away women in need.  The solution was 'The More Room For Help' campaign that will help raise money for the expansion.  Some assistance has been promised from government but BC Housing has given no time frame.  Violet asked if our Rotary club would consider some sort of fund raising towards the costs.  Hopefully, BCH will come forth with some money too.

 

     Of interest is the event called More Doors than Zippers. It's a fundraiser for their Samaritan House expansion campaign, but also a chance to meet up with some of the candidates for the upcoming municipal election.

 

Jim thanked the speaker.