Moose Jaw’s Riverside Mission will receive a new building with 11 more affordable housing suites — for a total of 22 rooms — as part of a merger with Regina’s Souls Harbour Rescue Mission (SHRM).
Conversations about a merger between the organizations began several years ago, explained Joe Miller, SHRM executive director. He and Scott Elger, former executive director for Riverside Mission, met at a conference where they discussed the work of their respective organizations.
“The more we talked, the more we realized (what) we had in common,” continued Miller. “I know Riverside Mission was looking at what they could do to improve their operations and meet the growing need there.”
Both directors decided to pitch the merger idea to their respective boards. Once the executive directors received the go-ahead, the work began to merge the two Christian humanitarian non-profits.
“I think it’s a great thing. We’re excited,” Miller added.
“I think it’s a great move for Riverside Mission as an organization and it’s great for Moose Jaw as a community,” said Rachel Mullens, manager of Riverside Mission.
The merger will bring many opportunities to Riverside that it wouldn’t have otherwise had, she continued. There will be more chances for involvement in the community and the possibility to offer better services.
“We’ll be able to do more outreach into the community. … We’ll have a new building; we’ll be able to do more programming and really reach out there,” she added.
Although the merger occurred nearly two months ago, Miller is now beginning to communicate the changes. He will be in Moose Jaw during Sidewalk Days to discuss the new direction.
Miller pointed out Riverside Mission is one-tenth the size of SHRM in its operations. Since Souls Harbour has been working in rescue ministry for 30 years, it can bring its experience and “operational efficiencies” to the new relationship.
“We want to improve the services there that are available for the residents of Moose Jaw and surrounding communities … ,” said Miller. “Riverside has a good reputation and we just want to build on that.”
Souls Harbour Rescue Mission has big plans for a new Riverside Mission building. It has already purchased property at 212 and 218 River Street adjacent to Mosaic Place. Construction is expected to start in 2020 and be completed by 2022.
Besides the 22 affordable suites, the idea is to create a community centre with four to six offices for other like-minded non-profit organizations. Miller mused the building could have health-care providers on-site, while there could also be a retail store that provides jobs for some of the clients.
Riverside feeds 50 to 70 people a day, houses up to 10 people per day in its shelter, and provides clothing to people. Those services will continue under the merger. A name for the building has not yet been chosen; Riverside Mission will keep its organizational name.
“It will be a better Riverside Mission,” Miller remarked. “I know we’ll be able to enhance the work they’re doing there now.”
The way the building will be constructed will also be different, he continued. It will be made similar to how Souls Harbour’s new building was constructed for nearly $7 million.
The building design will be passive, which means it will use furnaces instead of a boiler system. It will rely on 22-inch thick walls to create an envelope that keeps the building warm. Air exchange units will move the air around, while the roof will be covered with solar panels.
“How can we be better stewards of the resources donors have given us?” Miller asked. He added that based on the tone of the conversations, emails and phone calls he’s had, many people are excited about this new venture.
