About two months after Windsor Pride moved into space provided by Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, the organization is considering another move.
"We struck a committee at our board meeting to look for new space," says Executive Director Bob Williams. "Even though we've been through downtown and looked at eleven sites, we're going to revisit the opportunities. Hopefully, we're going to come up with something because we really do need to be deeper into the core of the city."
Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare offered the space at 1106 Ouellette Ave. after Windsor Pride had to vacate its suite at the Pelissier St. Parking Garage at the end of June.
Windsor City Council voted in November to revert retail space at the municipal parking garage back into parking spots and gave tenants six months to move. Unfortunately, Windsor Pride was unable to find a suitable location to move to until the hospital offered a partnership.
The location was always meant to be temporary.
Williams says this past summer's youth camp was very successful, and counseling sessions two days a week are full, but attendance for other programs are down.
"It's somewhat of a familiarity situation. Where folks have been in their life and they're in recovery, and this isn't necessarily the proper or right location," explains Williams, adding that Pride has been offering those services off-site.
For now, the organization has not picked a moving date, but it has been able to bank money for the eventual move.
Donations from Windsor businesses have been used for programming, and Williams hopes to hire support staff. Other donations of time, labour, and materials will be used to renovate Windsor Pride's new home.