Two decades of being there when needed

Phoenix Rising is marking 20 years of dedicated service in and beyond Sault Ste. Marie.

SooToday.com is pleased to share the following retrospective, as provided by Natalie Nielsen, co-ordinator of Phoenix Rising's Women's Centre:

************************* Phoenix Rising Non-Profit Homes Inc. & Women’s Centre

Phoenix Rising is currently celebrating our 20th anniversary.

Phoenix Rising is a multi-faceted support service for women and their children that was founded in 1986.

We offer safe affordable housing to marginalized women in our community.

Our programs are designed to help women gain control of their own lives.

In 1986 a few women sat around the kitchen table discussing how wonderful it would be to have an apartment building where women and children could go after coming out of crisis.

They envisioned this building with apartments, a day care centre and support services all under one roof.

The philosophy that all of the founders agreed upon was that the support services be determined, designed and delivered from a woman’s perspective.

A feminist philosophy was embraced which encouraged equality for women helping women and a holistic, egalitarian approach.

This philosophy continues to be the essence of Phoenix Rising. In 1986 these women formed a board of directors and incorporated the organization under the name of Phoenix Rising Non-Profit Homes Inc.

Some target groups were clarified: women who experience mental illness [or] substance abuse, have had violence in their lives, and who have had conflict with the law.

Approval was received from the Ministry of Health who agreed to fund the mental health component of the program.

In December 1988 Phoenix Rising submitted an offer to purchase Tara Hall, which was an old apartment building in the downtown core that had been gutted by a fire.

They planned to renovate, but decided against it. In April 1990 funds were received from the Ministry of Health to hire a mental health worker to begin program development.

A children’s program worker and primary support worker were also hired.

Although the original plan was to create the apartment complex, the Phoenix Rising Women’s Centre came first.

Space for the centre was rented in the downtown area for the support services.

The original location was on Brock Street.

Then it moved to Gore Street, and once again to Albert Street which is our current location.

Services developed at the Women’s Centre included a drop-in centre, a resource library, group programs, one-to-one support and special events.

A program coordinator was hired and a second Women’s Drop-In Centre was launched in Elliot Lake during late 1990s.

During 1990 and 1991, 2 Manitou Drive was agreed upon by the board and all three ministries as the site for the apartment building, in spite of the board’s concern about this location as it was too far from downtown.

In the spring of 1991, construction was at last begun on the apartment building.

In December of 1991, the building was officially opened and tenants moved in.

In 2006 one of the founding sisters, Bryna Coppel-Park, passed away.

Due to her passion for and dedication to Phoenix Rising and strong community support to honour her accomplishments, Phoenix Rising was able to construct and dedicate a large flower garden at the housing complex in her memory during the summer of 2007.

Since then, Phoenix Rising Women’s Centre has continued to work with the tenants and women in the community.

Phoenix Rising provides women and children with many services at no cost.

Examples are our YMCA swim, Phoenix Feast dinner once a month and “Soup’s On” lunch once a week.

We offer a variety of multi-cultural celebrations during seasonal holidays.

A number of workshops geared towards sexual health/healthy relationships, goal setting and self-esteem/empowerment are available.

Art therapy and freedom from abuse are implemented into our Phoenix calendar of events.

Workshops and information sessions are implemented at every opportunity and provided in partnership from community supports such as Algoma Public Health, Algoma Family Service, Community Living Algoma, Ontario Works, Credit Counseling, Women in Crisis, Red Cross and the Canadian Diabetes Association, etc.

Phoenix Rising has a steering committee facilitated by the women who drop in the centre, who we call our Phoenix Sisters.

We currently rent the space located at 621 Albert Street East, but it is our dream to one day own our own centre.

The Women’s Drop-In Centre is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday 1 p.m. - 4 p.m and Thursdays 11:30 a.m. - 4 p.m. Anyone who might be interested in membership on the board of directors for Phoenix Rising Non-Profit Homes Inc. & Women’s Centre is asked to forward a letter c/o Barbara Bradley, secretary to the board of directors of the Phoenix Rising Women’s Centre, 621 Albert Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, P6A 2K5.

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