...Continued from "Transitional"

This building is located very close to our Downtown Shelter which is important not just for ease of referrals and security back up, but also provides the people who move in with the linkages and support they need to successfully make the transition from the street.

The building is also in much better condition than many of the other SRO’s in the Downtown Eastside, making it a more desirable place to live. It has amenities that are rare in SRO’s such as the large lounge and the laundries provided on each floor. It offers great potential for more amenity space such as developing a roof garden.

Two large storefront commercial spaces exist on the main floor: one houses our offices. The other is rented at low cost, to a lifeskill training/rehab centre for at-risk youth, run by the North Vancouver Food Services, complementing the services upstairs.

The majority of the residents are now from the shelter, and others are waitlisted. This in itself speaks to the pressing need that exists to help people exit the cycle of homelessness.

History
The Sakuro So is located in a community that once was the home and cultural centre for many Japanese immigrants. The Sakura So housed many immigrants and had Japanese commercial tenancies within two street level storefronts. With the development of a new Japanese Community Centre in Burnaby, many of the existing residents moved, leaving many rooms empty, despite the crisis in the need for affordable housing.

Lookout purchased the Sakura So from the Nikkei Society with the understanding and agreement that the tenants, mostly Japanese elders, who remained would be able continue to stay within the building, moving in new residents through attrition.

Funding
The Sakura So was purchased in 2001 through grants from Human Resource Development Canada (HRDC) through the federal government homeless initiative.