East Hants community group secures funding for new accessible facility

The former Enfield District School has been home for the Corridor Community Options for Adults centre for the past 18 years but the non-profit has outgrown the space and says it needs a new, fully accessible home.

The CCOA has been providing programs for those with intellectual disabilities since the 1970s and on Tuesday, the organization revealed new funding from all three levels of government.

This funding will allow them to begin construction a new state-of-the-art facility later this year.

“Years ago, when this building was first occupied, I think the thought was we would never run out of room and of course, we ran out of room pretty quickly,” said CCOA manager Ross Young.

The former school was built back in the 1960s and Young says the building has passed its best before date.

The facility has the capacity to provide programming for 44 people, but the demand from the community is growing. A new facility will be built at a site in the Elmsdale Business Park, with a capacity to accommodate 125 people.

 “This is an exciting day, and a major step forward in our goal of building a new, state of the art, accessible facility that will provide a wide variety of programs and supports for people in the community for years to come,” said Gerrard Garden, Chairman of the Board, Corridor Community Options for Adults.

Jessie Stewart is a program member of the CCOA and said she was excited for the opportunity to expand programming at a new facility.

“We need a new building, that’s bigger,” said Stewart. “We need a bigger kitchen for cooking, we need a bigger wood room for wood, we need a bigger room for our day program.”

Help is coming in the way of financial support from all three levels of government. As the federal government announced Tuesday, it is giving $2.6 million from the Rural and Northern Infrastructure Stream.

“Regardless of your mood when walking into CCOA, you cannot help but leave with a smile once you have had a chance to appreciate the incredible work that happens there,” Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois told Global News.

“I am very proud that our government is investing $2.6 million to support a tremendous local organization, ensuring that they have an adequate facility to meet their needs while supporting inclusive communities.”

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The province of Nova Scotia is giving $1.5 million to the construction project, while the municipality of East Hants will direct $200,000 to the project. The CCOA is aiming to fundraise and contribute another $2.2 million of its own.

“The CCOA has a far-reaching impact, across East Hants and beyond,” said Eleanor Roulston, Warden for the Municipality of East Hants.

“Funding from the Municipality of East Hants, alongside that from the Federal and Provincial Governments, plus fundraising from the community, will bring CCOA into a new era.”

The plan is to break ground on the construction of the new site in the spring or early summer, with the goal of opening the new facility in 2022.