Fort St. John Association for Community Living to build new Terus Community Centre

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Association for Community Living (FSJACL) has provided updates on its Capital Campaign for the Terus Community Centre.

The main goal of the campaign is to renovate its previous operation and program building at 10257 100th Avenue due to being inadequate in meeting the needs of the people in its programs.

FSJACL Chief Executive Officer Jordan Soggie says that the renovations are necessary because people’s needs have evolved and changed since it started operating out of the building in 1960 and the community needs to move towards helping people be more integrated. 

He describes the capital plan as the biggest project that the organization has taken on.

On January 6th, FSJACL posted to social media saying it has a plan to meet the increasing demand for services to help those with special needs. 

The post predicts a 113 per cent increase in its case load over the next 10 years.

Soggie says the prediction comes from population growth, and the need for greater access for people needs to be assessed.

“[This] includes people on the spectrum of autism as well, in terms of creating services for inclusion in our communities and helping people live as independent lives as possible,” says Soggie.

FSJACL’s current facility will be renovated into a space focused on community connection and integration and on building community and life skills.

“It’s a 6000 square foot building, and only 2000 square feet was for services and for supporting people, the other 4000 square feet was for meetings and offices,” says Soggie.

“The 2000 square feet doesn’t go very far when you have 40 people who need to come in and receive support or engage in programming.”

In order to meet the needs of its office workers and the people in the programs, FSJACL moved its administrative offices to a new building at 9940 100th Street and 104th Avenue in November last year.  

Soggie says the renovations include developing a cafe to operate out of this space to provide people with disabilities an opportunity to learn skills that will help them with getting future employment opportunities.

“There is a stigma around hiring people with disabilities, and we want to show that a business can run and have people who are employed with disabilities and do quite well.”

Soggie says the association wants to facilitate amiable transitions for youth with intellectual disabilities moving into adult services.

“Youth are likely to fall off and not be engaged in adult services as they age, which puts them at a disadvantage. Our goal is to make a space so that people are being better connected.”

Another goal is having a strategy to address the changing needs for people on the autism spectrum.

The renovation project is expected to cost between $800,000 and $1 million, and the association has aimed to reach the goal through grant applications and public donations. 

According to the FSJACL website, $350,000 has been raised so far. 

“We’re very excited about and very thankful for this community for partnering with us.”

Construction work on the project is scheduled to start in March, and have its grand opening by October of this year. 

“We’re just very grateful for the support from our community, and it blows me away every day what we’re going to be able to do because of the help from the city,” Soggie concludes.

Founded in 1960, FSJACL provides support and services for adults with developmental disabilities, and is currently in its 65th year of operating in Fort St John.

To celebrate the anniversary, FSJACL will be holding an open house at its administrative office on January 23rd, 2025 at 10 a.m. 

The association currently supports over 120 individuals.

Donations are accepted on the FSJACL website.