During hard times, Honour House is a home away from home for soldiers, first responders and their families.
It's been nearly three years since the Honour House Society opened the doors to Honour House in New Westminster. Located on St. George Street, volunteers transformed the house into a comfortable place for families of Canadian Forces personnel, firefighters, paramedics and police officers, while their loved ones are receiving care in the Lower Mainland.
"We're still providing homes to veterans, members of the military and emergency services members," said Craig Longstaff, general manager of Honour House.
The need for a place like Honour House - the only one of its kind in Canada - continues to exist and will continue on for years to come, Longstaff added.
"We were full to capacity a few weeks ago. We literally had to turn people away. It's kind of up and down," he said.
When the house, which has a maximum capacity of 20 people, is full, Longstaff arranges alternative accommodations for families, either with military bases or at hotels that have partnered with Honour House.
"We would never have people out on the street," he said. "We always do something for them (the families)."
Right now, the society is focused on three key aspects of running Honour House - funding, recruiting volunteers and awareness.
The Honour House Society depend son donations and fundraising efforts to run the house.
On the weekend, Afghanistan veteran Adam Coleman, who owns two Mobil 1 Lube Express franchises in Langley, held a fundraiser for Honour House Society. Coleman donated an entire day's profits from both locations to Honour House and pledged to donate $2 from every oil change for the rest of the month, Longstaff said.
"Half the battle is fundraising, and the other half is getting people to know that we exist. I always say that, potentially, there could be a firefighter or a member of the military sitting in a hospital in Vancouver right now and putting his family up in a hotel just because he doesn't know that we're here," he said.
Longstaff and the board of directors have set up a poster campaign in hopes of spreading the word about Honour House throughout the military and first responders community.
"One of our big drives right now is to bring awareness to the country," he said.
The society is sending out thousands of posters to police stations, fire stations, Legions and military bases to garner more attention for the house and how it helps this specific community.
"One of the hardest things is getting people to know that we're actually here so that they can use us when they need us," Longstaff added.
Currently, all paramedics in British Columbia are members of Honour House Society, and each year $20 from all paramedics' paycheques is donated directly to the society. Longstaff would like to see this type of program exist for all first responders and military personnel, not only because it helps bring in donations, but because it raises awareness for the house.
"You'll find that a lot of paramedics do know about us because of their membership," he said. "We'd love to that (for everyone)."
For more information on Honour House the society and becoming a member, visit www.honourhouse.ca.
