Letter to the editor, Xtra West
In response to: “The Centre considers moving out of the gay village”, printed Friday, April 17, 2009.
Without a doubt, there is tremendous historic and symbolic significance to The Centre remaining in the Davie Village. However, in today’s economic climate, more than ever, The Centre must explore ways to remain economically viable.
Like most not-for-profit organizations, we’ve seen significant drops in personal and corporate donations, with no significant increase in government funding. Despite that, The Centre has managed to keep its finances on budget. We will continue to do so.
However, expenses associated with our current location - or with any other West End location we have investigated over the past few years - simply aren’t sustainable in the long term, unless we reduce our programs and services.
As well, our community has repeatedly asked The Centre to address the inaccessibility of our current location. In fact, it was the top priority identified in the extensive public consultation process of our recent Feasibility Study.
In balancing our immediate need to sustain programs and services and the ongoing challenges to make The Centre welcoming and accessible to all members of our diverse community, we are actively searching for a space that:
- Allows access to everyone
- Significantly reduces our leasing costs
- Brings all of our current programs and services under one roof
- Provides a safe and comfortable workplace for our staff
- Is close to major transit routes
We are confident that if we fulfill these goals, The Centre will remain a vital part of our queer communities by providing programs and services to all members, regardless of their postal code, or ours. A location outside the West End is indicative of how we’ve proudly and openly put down our roots in neighbourhoods all over the Lower Mainland and across the province.
