WATCH: A farmhouse that has been a therapeutic refuge for the region’s homeless is getting a special renovation. Ceilidh Millar Reports.
On Woodwynn Farms 193-acre land in Brentwood Bay lies an oasis and a home for some of our community’s most vulnerable.
“We’re a treatment centre where the homeless come to get the help that they need to put that lifestyle behind them,” explained founder Richard Leblanc of Woodwynn Farms. “This house is where it all comes together.”
Woodwynn is an active farm where those going through treatment tend to livestock, work in the gardens and manage the greenhouses.
After years of being a refuge for those in need, the farmhouse is getting a much-needed makeover.
More than 30 Home Depot employees from across B.C. volunteered to renovate the facility this week.
“It’s one of our core values to give back,” said assistant store manager Scott Roberts from the Home Depot in Langford. “It’s a very old home. We would like to come in, renovate and do what we can to give back to them.”
“It’s great to be part of a project like this where we can work together as a team” explained store manager Denise Milkovic of the Home Depot in Duncan.
The facility will receive new floors, an upgraded bathroom, new kitchen appliances and a fresh coat of paint.
“There’s no way we would have been able to afford this on our own,” explained Leblanc. “The amount of materials going in is very substantial and the show of support from all of these volunteers is priceless.”
“The [volunteers] have a wide variety of skill sets,” said Roberts. “We have everything from plumbers to electricians to carpenters and general contractors.”
It’s a project that’s been a year in the making with the Home Depot Canada Foundation.
Leblanc says it will set the foundation to help many more people for years to come.
“This is where we get together three times a day and share meal together in a family type setting to eat the food that we help grow on our land,” explained Leblanc. “The whole point is to help people in need.”
Visit Woodwynn Farms and the Home Depot Canada Foundation to learn more.
Ceilidh Millar
