An exciting time for the Mountain Rose Women's Shelter in Rocky Mountain House, as it was announced Monday morning they will receive $1.9 million in funding to increase their capacity by building a new shelter.

Minister of Community and Social Services Irfan Sabir was on hand to make the announcement, bringing their current building, which is about 2,100 square feet with 10 funded beds, to an impressive 20,000 square feet, with three floors worth of resources in their new building.

(Photo courtesy Mountain Rose Women's Shelter - artist rendering of the new shelter)

The main floor will have all the administration offices, community services, outreach programs, a child activity room, an aboriginal healing room, as well as an intake for their expanded shelter, says Executive Director Cindy Easton.

“The shelter will be a 21 bed emergency shelter on the 2nd floor, and then our third floor will be five second stage, or transitional housing apartments.”

Easton says there has been a need for a bigger shelter in the area for a number of years.

“We did a needs assessment I guess back in 2009, it was actually a feasibility and needs assessment study, that said in ten years this is what we are going to need. So we started looking at it really seriously probably 3-5 years ago.”

The second stage housing is for women and children fleeing domestic violence who have come through the shelter but would like more support, and they would be able to stay in the apartments for up to a year and half to get all the support they need.

They have purchased land in the heart of the community, and they hope to begin construction in a few weeks once a contractor is chosen, and they hope to have their doors open by this time next year.