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'It's going to work wonders': New Gathering Place shelter and housing get $2M boost from N.L. couple

Pat O'Callaghan and Paula Boucher donated the seven-figure sum to the project, which will see the former 180-year-old convent in downtown St. John's transform into a space for emergency shelter beds and long-term housing.

New space will accommodate 90 people instead of 30

Stephanie Kinsella · CBC News ·
A woman in a blue dress and a man in a tweed blazer stand in front of a stone wall, smiling.
Sister Elizabeth Davis, chair of the board of directors of the Gathering Place, and Paul Davis, executive director of the Gathering Place, say guests told them better housing options were needed. (Stephanie Kinsella/CBC NL)

It isn't what you'd describe as homey right now. 

Exposed stone with thin wooden beams, floors with gaps wide enough to let the light shine down, caution tape surrounding parts of the interior, and stairs that are best described as perilous.

It's chilly and cavernous, but you wouldn't really expect much else from a 180-year-old building under construction.  

The crowd of about 50 people gathered inside Wednesday wasn't really focused on the current state of it — it's all about what's to come for the Gathering Place, for the "Beginning the Build" official kickoff. 

The former Sisters of Mercy Convent on Military Road in St. John's will be the new home of an emergency shelter, transitional housing and affordable housing for guests of the Gathering Place. 

Instead of accommodating 30 people currently in cots an auditorium in its current space, the new building will have space for a total of 90 guests.

"I can tell you nothing can be more challenging or more difficult for our staff than to have someone knocking on our door at night, someone looking for a safe space and when our staff can't let them in," said Paul Davis, executive director of the Gathering Place. 

"So this new facility will go a long way to help to fix that and provide new opportunities for people in this area."

A woman with short purple hair and a multi-coloured scarf stand in front of a white sign and a stone wall.
Heather Shinnicks says the new housing model will help many people. (Stephanie Kinsella/CBC NL)

Heather Shinnicks, a Gathering Place guest, couldn't agree more. 

"This project is amazing. It's going to work wonders," she said. 

She described her own "caterpillar to butterfly" experience that she believes others can have when the right housing is available.

Shinnicks said she lived on the streets for three years and then stayed into a homeless shelter for one year. Then she was able to move into transitional housing, which had mental health and other supports in place should she need them. 

"I was able to break free and stand on my own two feet again," she said. 

Shinnicks said she is almost eight years sober now and is still down around the Gathering Place a lot. 

"I'm here to just be a face of hope, and to represent and to be able to empathize and break bread and to just be a guest. And if someone just needs to have a chat, I'll have a chat with them on the side," she said.

A multimillion-dollar springboard

Sister Elizabeth Davis, chair of the board of directors of the Gathering Place, said there are two reasons the project is happening. 

One is the $2-million donation from couple Pat O'Callaghan, a longtime businessman, and Paula Boucher. 

That "gave us the courage" to go to the provincial and federal governments and ask for money to make it happen, said Davis.

A man in a navy blazer and a woman in a green jacket pose in front of a stone wall with wooden beams.
Pat O'Callaghan and Paula Boucher donated $2 million to the new Gathering Place shelter and housing space. (Stephanie Kinsella/CBC NL)

O'Callaghan, who is from Ireland but has lived in Atlantic Canada for 30 years, said his first donation to the Gathering Place was some kitchen equipment.

"Newfoundland has been extremely good to my career … and we'd like this to be something that would be remembered," said O'Callaghan. 

While the building will be known as Mercy House, the emergency shelter will be known as O'Callghan's Haven. 

Listening to those with the biggest stake 

But the biggest driving factor was the guests themselves. 

"The guests dared to let us know in words and in actions what they needed to improve their health and well-being," said Davis.

While people said the services provided at the Gathering Place were good, Davis said, coming back to the shelter night after night was hard. 

A cavernous hall and door marked with caution tape and under construction.
The rooms and hallways in the former convent show exposed stone and wooden beams, as construction is underway. (Stephanie Kinsella/CBC NL)

The new space will allow more privacy for guests, even in the emergency shelter accommodations.  The second floor will have semi-private rooms and shared communal spaces, while the top two floors "will essentially become people's new homes," said Paul Davis.

The project will cost $11 million — $7 million of that is coming from levels of government, $2 million is coming from O'Callaghan and Boucher, and there is $2 million left to raise. 

It will take up to two years to transform the convent, built in the 1840s, into its new purpose. 

"Today is base camp and now we have to climb the mountain," said Paul Davis.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Kinsella

Stephanie Kinsella works with CBC's bureau in St. John's.

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