The Ksan House Society and the Terrace Anti-Poverty Group Society are teaming up to provide services.
The Anti-Poverty group is in its last week of operation at the city-owned house located on Park Ave. next to the pool, and volunteers will be packing and cleaning up the house next week.
The group will be shutting down temporarily and reopening in the old emergency shelter location on Hall St. in the spring.
“There is going to be a lull in services,” society board president Tanya Gauvin said.
“We were looking at shutting right down and dissolving the society,” she said, explaining that there are six board members and four regular volunteers along with a few other volunteers and handymen who help Anti-Poverty keep going. The group’s resources took a plunge last year when it was given no government money, and staff time was cut gradually until money for the executive director’s position ran out last July. Since then, Anti-Poverty has been running on volunteer board and staff. Advocacy is now being handled by the Terrace and District Community Services.
Ksan's executive director Carol Sabo said that the unified effort would enhance services provided to the community in these times of fiscal uncertainty.
“Ksan Society has the infrastructure to allow for project management, financial and legal reporting obligations and public accountability while Anti-Poverty has a vast amount of knowledge and expertise and a wide volunteer base,” she said.
Sabo noted that Ksan Society has just begun renovations of the old emergency shelter, and programs like Anti-Poverty's income tax program and Food Share distribution will be a natural fit in that new community space. Ksan's community greenhouse and Anti-Poverty's community garden will work alongside each other, and the free store that both organizations run could turn into a storefront operation which could provide job experience and training through an enhanced volunteer program.