Phoenix Transition House Board members,  and staff celebrate with Integris Credit Union  folks in new kitchen

Prince George, B.C.- It’s a  project that has been more than two years in the making, but the results are finally being  enjoyed.

It was the summer of 2011 when a team from Integris Credit Union  stepped up to  help build a new  fence for the Phoenix Transition House in Prince  George.  Phoenix Transition House helps women and their children during times of crisis, often  as they are leaving an abusive  situation.

When the fence was completed,  the conversation started about a new project,   the need for a new kitchen.

“The kitchen they had was just not acceptable for  making and serving food to  30 to 40 women and  children” says Integris Credit Union’s  Engagement and Communications Manager Dan Wingham.  That was  the start of a project that  has just recently been  completed.

Integris Credit Union has  long been a supporter of the Phoenix Transition House,  and was  quick to  come up with $25 thousand dollars for the project.   The trades were brought in,  and it was  quickly  determined there would need to  be more funding.

That’s when  Wingham  discovered Concentra Financial out of Saskatchewan, which  annually  provides 18 grants of $10,000 each for special projects.   The application was submitted,   and  a grant  was received.

New cupboards, new floor,  new  appliances,  and a total redesign of the kitchen area,  means  women and their children have a comfortable space to  dish up their own  cereal,  pour their own coffee, without  getting in the way of the  regular meal planning and  work being done in the kitchen.

“Our  clients now have space where they can  store their own  special  items, like snacks or cereals” says Karen Underhill of  Phoenix Transition House.  The kitchen is usually the heart of any home,  it’s where people gather,  share  experiences,  and Underhill says the new design  includes a special fold up table that can be put into  use  when  women  want to work together “So it’s not like  your undergoing counselling,  you are just  working together, making pies,  or peeling potatoes, and sharing  experiences.”

While the  renovations were underway,  all cooking and meal planning had to be done in the  neighbouring residence which is  normally used for  counselling  the children.

“To be able to get a new kitchen” says Underhill, “ is  just amazing.”