Richmond’s Centre for Disability is on the lookout for a new home as its landlord seeks to rezone the building.
Last week, a sign was posted on the side of RCD’s building at 100-5671 No 3 Rd. However, executive director, Ella Huang said the possibility of a move has been on the organization’s radar for a while.
“We are looking at all our options now. In 2015 we started the whole process of relocation,” Huang told Richmond News. “Before we learned any of this we just kind of looked at the landscape of the city centre core and realized that this is going to happen sooner or later.”
For RCD, the challenge lies in finding a location that meets its needs: having low rent, enough space and accessibility.
“We’re a small not-for-profit organization. Core funding is so difficult to come by, so rent can be a deal-breaker for us,” she said. “We appreciate there is inflation of everything, but of course we want an affordable, sustainable place where we can build a permanent home.”
Currently, RCD has another year on their lease where their space is approximately 4,000 square feet. Huang said the organization hopes to move into a building that is at least that size.
Accessibility and the location of the space are other key items on the organization’s needs list.
“Right now it’s so perfect. We’re close to the Canada Line and we have parking space where the HandyDART can come drop off our participants,” Huang said, also pointing out that the building’s facilities have to meet RCD’s needs.
“At least one (washroom) has to be accessible because we have a high percentage of our participants using wheelchairs,” she said. “We want to showcase to our participants and the public, accessibility.”
RCD serves approximately 250 people every week. The organization responds to the needs of members and communities by providing services and activities involving skills development, literacy, health, recreation, technology, peer support and disabilities support services. Huang said RCD has had the support of the city, and that the city knows their needs for a new location.
“We have done our due diligence to make sure that we’re going to, in the long run, have a permanent home,” Huang said. “At least one with a long lease like we have now to provide consistent, stable services to Richmond.”
