Community Service

Marguerite's Place

The St. John’s Northwest Rotary Club is pleased to work with the St. John’s Status of Women’s Council in support of wonderful project called: Marguerite’s Place, in support of women in vulnerable situations.

The vision for Marguerite’s Place is the provision of programs and housing to women over 30 yrs old who have faced a multitude of complex issues and may be living in vulnerable situations. Marguerites Place is a community project lead by the St. John’s Status of Women’s Council. St. John’s Northwest Rotary Club has appropriated a $25,000 contribution towards the project (the funds will be dispersed should the project secure the additional funding necessary to move ahead).

The Marguerite’s Place Motto is: “Safe Housing and Support for Women”. No similar facility exists in Newfoundland and Labrador for women over 30.

Marguerite’s Place is name after Marguerite Dyson, an Inuit woman who was a cheerful volunteer at the St. John’s Women’s Centre. Marguerite lived in an unsafe boarding house in downtown St. John’s and in 1984 at age 51 yrs was murdered. Her vulnerable situation and positive personality inspired the concept for Marguerite’s Place.

The Marguerite’s Place Plan is to build a new structure designed to provide:

• 15 units as independent apartments;
• 4 beds for emergency shelter;
• supportive programming for residents; and
• meeting space and offices.

The cost of the entire project is estimated at $2.9 million, of which approx. $1 million was conditionally approved through various Federal and Provincial support programs. The remainder of funds is being sought from other sources, and a public fundraising campaign was launched in Spring 2008 to fulfill the funding requirements. (Operational funds are being sought from the Province (inter-departmental involvement) and non-governmental entities.) Land is being requested as a donation from the Province, specifically a site on Topsail Road, adjacent to the School for the Deaf. Marguerite’s Place project has three phases:

• I needs assessment & cost/benefits analysis (complete)
• II pre-development (complete)
• III final development and planning (ongoing)

The St. John’s Northwest Rotary Club is hoping that this project is able to secure the remaining funding and Government commitments and can move forward with the initiative. For more information, please visit: http://www.margueritesplace.ca/