The supportive housing development run by the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society at 580 Dogwood Street has a new name: Q’waxsem Place.
The facility’s name was included in a report to City Council dated Jan. 15, 2021. The report was an update to council on the development’s progress, which included the building’s new name. According to the report, Q’waxsem Place means treehouse in the Lik’wala language.
“Q’waxsem means Treehouse – honoring the Dogwood Street address and the homes the building will provide,” wrote Cleo Corbett, senior planner with the City of Campbell River in a note to the Mirror.
Residents of the Rosebowl Bridge to Housing centre downtown who will be moving into the new building were asked to suggest names for the facility, which is BC Housing’s preferred method of naming new projects.
Construction is nearly complete at the facility, and occupancy is scheduled for Feb. 2021. Landscaping and other site works will continue into the spring after residents have moved in. Q’waxsem Place has 50 units, and around 160 applications were received for those units. Most of the applications were for Campbell River residents, which is a requirement for accessing the supportive housing. Successful applicants were chosen based on who had the greatest need and is best suited for this kind of housing.
That decision was made by a Coordinated Access and Assessment Committee who are familiar with the applicants.
More information on Q’waxsem Place is expected from the Vancouver Island Mental Health Society in the next few days.
This story has been updated to say that Q’waxsem actually means “treehouse.” A previous version of the story quoted the city’s report which said Q’waxsem meant “Dogwood Tree.”
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