The sound of electric tools drowns out conversation at Honour House as volunteers rush to finish work before Remembrance Day on the first home in Canada for relatives to use while their family members in the Canadian Forces, police, fire and ambulance services receive medical care.
A family suite, a living room with a fireplace and the kitchen will be ready for the official ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, largely as a result of enthusiastic community support and lots of volunteer labour. The remaining nine family suites in the 10,000-square-foot home in the Vancouver suburb of New Westminster will be completed by mid-January.
Allan De Genova, who spearheaded the $4.6-million project, counted more than 50 people on the site Tuesday afternoon. Many are volunteers who have poured their heart into their work. "Everyone here has a story," Mr. De Genova says. "Their grandfather was in the war, their father served, their cousin was just back from Afghanistan."
Honour House is fashioned on the model of Ronald McDonald House, which offers places near medical facilities across Canada for seriously ill children and their families. Honour House will provide temporary accommodations for up to two weeks.
"The need for Honour House is great, absolutely huge," says Joanne Henderson, assistant command secretary at the B.C./Yukon Command of The Royal Canadian Legion.
Veterans are looked after but their families have not been, she says. Many families have to stay in hotels at enormous cost.
Honour House will offer a place for families to stay with them. "They will have family surrounding them, which will add strength … and help them fight what they are going through," Ms. Henderson says.
"This is the first in our country. There should be Honour Houses across the country."
Shouting over last-minute construction noise, Mr. De Genova says the development of Honour House has not been easy. The project was started without the support of the Department of National Defence.
Organizers initially proposed a development on property owned by the DND close to St. Paul's Hospital in downtown Vancouver. However, the DND "wanted to channel my energies and build this home in Ottawa, where they said the need was greatest," Mr. De Genova says.
"I said, what is wrong with it out here? I still remember that person [in DND]very well and that person will get my first e-mail when Honour House opens, [saying]that it is a reality and it did happen and it is here in B.C.," he says.
His second proposal was for a house on a site near Vancouver General Hospital. However, city staff were not keen to change zoning to accommodate the facility.
New Westminster Mayor Wayne Wright invited him to consider the suburban location just as his plans with Vancouver were falling apart.
Mr. Wright, 67, says he had a personal interest in the project. He recalls that, growing up, most of his teachers were veterans and he also took part in cadets while in high school. "As I grew up, I saw people go through the Korean War and the Vietnam War," he says. "We saw people who had difficulties and there was no place for them … they just could not cope with being back in regular society." He was anxious to help out on the project.
The city expedited zoning changes to accommodate the facility at the site and deferred property taxes and permit costs. "We did what we could. But everyone was doing it. There is not just one champion of this," Mr. Wright says.
Mr. De Genova says he took New Westminster's offer to his board of directors, wrote a business plan and obtained a two-year interest-free loan from the provincial government that enabled the organizers to purchase the land. B.C. Housing Minister Rich Coleman approved funding for the purchase of the property in days, he says.
"It was a miracle for us. That secured the lands - so then I had to find people to help me build the home and raise the funds."
The Vancouver Regional Construction Association wanted to be involved. Their members "went flat out" to build the home. "It was a labour of love," Mr. De Genova says. Construction work, plumbing, electrical and mechanical work was done mostly by volunteers. Appliances, windows, roofing and flooring were donated.
"There is nothing like this," Mr. De Genova says. "This is the first of its kind in Canada. It's my goal to build one [in each province]across the country. Once I get it up and running, by mid-January, I will be starting on the other provinces."