Skeena Valley Seniors Society rallies against demolition of mental health centre

While lobbying for local seniors, the Skeena Valley Seniors Society will rally against the demolition of the Seven Sisters Mental Health facility this week.

A replacement building is already in construction on the same lot and is planned to have services transferred over by the end of the year.

Diane Penner, president of the society, says that while they were lobbying for other issues like accessible transportation, the society had heard about the demolition and thought about how the building could be used for respite or transition care for seniors.

Following a Facebook poll posted by Penner, the community also had ideas on how the building could be utilized, with solutions for housing and addiction treatment at the top of the list. Some respondents raised issues of the cost associated with demolition, citing that it’s a waste of tax dollars given the newness of the building, only being constructed in 2005.

Penner also said that the building would be better utilized if it was turned into housing for locum doctors or nurses who are in town.

“Unfortunately, reusing or relocating the existing Seven Sisters is not an option. The existing Seven Sisters building was assembled on site, and is not modular. This means it would need to be dismantled and reassembled at a new site to be repurposed. A move like this significantly compromises the integrity of a building and would be cost prohibitive. Reusing or repurposing the existing building and keeping it in place is also not an option. The existing Seven Sisters will be too close to the main and emergency room entrances and ambulance bay which would create traffic flow and safety issues, especially in the unlikely event of a mass casualty or building evacuation scenario,” Northern Health said in a written statement to CFNR.

Northern Health also says that they will continue to be in conversation with the society to support seniors care in Terrace and the surrounding region.

The Skeena Valley Senior’s Society will gather in front of the current Seven Sisters building at 1 p.m. on April 1.

This story is brought to you in partnership with the Local Journalism Initiative of Canada. See the original story here.