Reimagine
Foundation

Help Us Build Something That’s Missing

 

I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, but it really came into focus over the last few years.

When I got divorced in my mid-30s, I was raising my child on my own and didn’t have much support. Asking for help was hard. Even when people were willing, I still felt like I was imposing.

Now my child is in their early 20s, and it’s been really hard to find a living situation that actually works. We’ve tried a few different setups - living with me, living alone, roommates - and none of them have really felt sustainable.

It’s not that they’re not capable. It’s that the options are so limited and kind of rigid. You either fit into what’s out there, or you don’t.

And once I started really paying attention, I realized how many people are in that same gap.

People coming out of high school without a clear path. Families dealing with mental health challenges without much of a support network. Deaf seniors placed in long-term care homes where they can’t really communicate with anyone around them. Deaf young adults trying to figure things out after school without much in place for them.

It kept coming back to the same thing there isn’t much in between “on your own” and “fully supported housing.”

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So this is what we're doing

 

Start small.

A six-unit building to begin with. Nothing institutional. Just a place where people can live near others who understand them a bit better.

Not forced programming, not a big system just something that feels more natural and human.

If it works, then build another one. And another.

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Where things are at 

 

I’ve started reaching out and have been lucky to connect with some people in construction and housing who are open to this idea.

There are also some things happening at the federal level that make this more possible than it used to be. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has released standardized building designs that can speed up approvals and reduce costs, which helps.

I’ve also set up Reimagine Foundation and am in the process of applying for charitable status so there’s a proper structure behind this.

The directors right now are me, my adult daughter, and a close friend of mine who is also a single mom raising a daughter who is trying to make her way in the world. So this is coming from lived experience on multiple fronts, it’s not abstract for us.

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The goal

 

To raise $4 million for the first project, buy the land and build the first six units.  Land is expensive, building is expensive.  We're determined to find a way.

After that, the idea is to repeat the model because we know people need options.

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Why this matters

 

We don’t think people are meant to be this isolated.

A lot of connection has moved online, but that doesn’t replace having people nearby. People you recognize, people you can talk to, even casually.

This is just an attempt to create more of that in a real, physical way.

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Be part of it

 

We appreciate it more than we can say.

And if donating isn’t possible, sharing it helps a lot too.

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Thank you, 

 

Susi, Gwen, Elizabeth, Alana, and Alice​

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