A Surrey organization’s plans to build a “Diversity Village” in Cloverdale will get a financial boost from a gala event this fall.
Progressive Intercultural Community Services Society, or PICS, wants to construct a “revolutionary” facility for seniors near the corner of 64th Avenue and 176th Street.
The 140-bed project, approved by Surrey city council in January, aims to give seniors “culturally sensitive care services” in a five-storey structure.
The not-for-profit facility will operate with a goal of providing “long-term care for an aging and diverse multicultural population,” from “seniors who are unable to care for themselves” to those who have a higher need of care, including those with dementia, according to a planning report.
• RELATED STORY: Cloverdale seniors care facility gets go ahead from City Council.
To help get the $85-million project off the ground, nearby Mirage Banquet Hall will be the site of a fundraiser planned for the evening of Oct. 6.
“Come and watch energizing performances by talented local artists, taste some delicious food, and learn how this project will benefit the community,” reads an event advisory from PICS. “There will be a chance to win a number of great door prizes. It all benefits PICS Diversity Village. Learn more at pics.bc.ca.”
The formal “Friends of PICS” gala’s keynote speaker will be Premier John Horgan. Tickets range from $100 to $500, and can be purchased by calling PICS, 604-596-7722.
Plans for the project were made public in 2016.
Charan Gill, founder of PICS, described it as the largest project in the history of the organization, which was launched in 1987.
“One of the innovative things we’re doing is we will have 14 villages. Clusters. Ten rooms in each,” Gill said in 2016. “Chinese, Filipino, Caucasian, doesn’t matter…. We are going to try to accommodate Syrians, any new group coming in. We are embracing everybody.”
• RELATED STORY: PICS Diversity Village in Surrey will fill ‘critical’ need in seniors care, from March 2016.
A “Help Build A Village” video posted by PICS to Youtube says residents of PICS Diversity Village “will enjoy social, leisure and recreational activities specifically tailored to their lifestyle,” including cultural and religious practices, servings of familiar food and an integrated daycare to encourage family visits.
“Surrey Memorial Hospital currently houses 150 South Asian seniors and this facility when built will not only ease the overcrowding at the hospital but will also save the government at least $1000 per day, per senior,” according to a post on the PICS website.
