12/17/2025
By now we hoped we would have had a finished building and be fully up and running. Even though we haven’t shared much publicly, the team has continued meeting regularly and pursued new ideas and has worked hard doing behind the scenes work that is required for a project like this to work.
But to be honest, this project has been harder than expected. This year, a failed grant application and several promising leads that didn’t come together led to moments where we wondered if the effort was worth it.
But then…we see the impact that our current affordability crisis is having on people and the mental health challenges so many are facing. We see updated numbers from local charities like the Family Central and the Corner Cupboard and we are reminded that there are so many families struggling. Our local Christmas Hampers program saw over 300 families register for assistance this year.
And so, a year-round facility won’t solve our food and housing affordability crisis, it isn’t going to fully solve our mental health crisis but it can create an affordable local space for adults and youth to move, connect, and build community and so we believe this is still a crucial piece of the puzzle needed for us as a community and so we’re not giving up!
We will keep knocking on doors and pursuing ideas until either we no longer see a need, or this thing is built!
Have a Merry Christmas from our entire team!
