Your donation will help provide safe, clean, affordable housing for people currently without.

Gratitude Week will ensure that every possible dollar donated goes directly to the renovation of two buildings in the Downtown East Side that will make a measurable contribution to End Homelessness Now. The expectation is that these projects will in the very near future transition people into a better quality of life by providing safe, clean and affordable living conditions.

The Situation

There are two hotels in the Downtown Eastside that are owned by the Province of British Columbia. The former Pender Hotel, which is currently unoccupied, and the Gastown Hotel which houses 97 people in deplorable conditions. The Province of BC has allocated funds to renovate the Pender Hotel. However, now that funds raised during Gratitude Week are being directed to the Pender Hotel renovations, money that was slated for the Pender will be redirected towards renovations at the Gastown Hotel. For each dollar raised for the Pender Hotel during Gratitude Week, an equivalent amount of money will be allocated to the Gastown Hotel so the precise dollar amounts for each project will be determined once the fundraising campaign is completed. By redirecting funds to the Gastown Hotel in this manner means renovations will begin well ahead of schedule. BC Housing will be in charge of managing the renovations at both buildings.

Gratitude House – 31 W Pender Street

Formerly known as the Pender Hotel, this single room occupancy (SRO) hotel once had 40 tiny rooms with people sharing bathrooms and amenities. It is currently vacant. Our plan is to provide funds to convert this currently unoccupied building into a total of 23 self-contained, livable suites; each with their own private washroom facilities and rename it Gratitude House. See the progress of the renovation on the Multivista website. The renovation of this building is scheduled to begin in October 2009 and is expected to be completed in the Spring of 2010. It will be operated by the BC Native Housing Society.

Hotel Gastown – 110 Water Street

This 7 storey brick and timber structure currently houses 97 residents in deplorable and thoroughly unthinkable living conditions.

Our goal is to provide funds so that the top 5 storeys of the building will be renovated, including the addition of common cooking and laundry facilities. This will greatly enhance and improve the tenants' quality of life, general health and overall well being. This building will be operated by Atira Property Management.

Gratitude Week to End Homelessness is the project of The Gratitude Week to End Homelessness Foundation. The Foundation is a non-profit Society incorporated under the Society Act of British Columbia. The Foundation is also a registered charity under the Income tax Act and its Charity Number is 80087 6021 RR0001. We are therefore able to issue Donation Tax Receipts for income tax purposes to our sponsors and donors.