Overwhelmed by Kindness

On the morning of Wednesday, November 29, 2006 I awoke to the sound of the snowplow. I looked out my window and resigned myself that I wasn’t going anywhere that day as the end of my driveway was blocked by 3 feet of snow and ice. I called the staff and clients, saying we would close for the day.

Within an hour I received a call from an employee of our Society who had been called by a tenant in our building. She reported smoke coming from our offices and that the fire department had been called.

I engaged in a little pacing and hand wringing for the next hour until my employee on site phoned. “The fire marshall says there is no structural damage that he can see” she reported and I had a small sigh of relief.

When I finally dug out and arrived at the Center, I opened the door and was assaulted by a most horrible, pungent smell. The front part of our offices looked ok but as I moved into our back room ( a large space of 1200 square feet with a 20 foot high ceiling) I could barely make out any features of the room. Every inch was black – covered by oily, sooty goo.

Equipment for physio-therapy, a wheelchair, three hospital beds, a garden swing, tables, stacking chairs, a couch and chair, desks, office chairs, sheets, pillows, blankets, computer, printer, scanner, stereo equipment, TV, music CDs, and thousands of dollars of art equipment and supplies rendered useless by a small fire. The smoke had found its way to lick every surface – even out the front door.

We were at a loss as to how to start but remembered that the CRA might have some space in Lewis Park for us to use during the day. We salvaged a few supplies and moved in for the month. We were extremely glad to have a warm and comfortable space during the storms of December.

At the end of the first week of January we moved again to a space in our original building – a large square box of a room with nothing in it. We quickly devised a plan to make is useable. A visit to “Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore” resulted in a donation of a double stainless steel sink, faucet and countertop and, using the talent of a volunteer carpenter, we built a kitchen.

Several individuals heard that we had had the fire and had been “smoked” out. They graciously offered their assistance and it was suggested that I make a list of necessary items. And I did….

So thank you Adda Vallavand and thank you – the citizens of the Comox Valley. We have now returned to our previous facility – new paint, new floors and our sincere appreciation of the people of the Comox Valley. As of today we have more furniture, equipment and supplies than we had before the fire.

A special thanks to Jim Stevensen, CRA, the Royston Bridge Club, Valley Links, the Old Age Pensioners of Black Creek, the Comox Presbyterian Church members, Compusave, Opportunities Job Center, Comox Valley Insurancentre, Bridges Contracting, Habitat for Humanity, and to dozens of you who stopped in with a donation or two. We are overwhelmed by your kindness. It is truly a blessing.


Yours truly,

The Board of Directors
Comox Valley Metanoia Society

Deborah Nelson
Program Coordinator

The Comox Valley Metanoia Society is a non-profit organization established in 1987. The mandate of the Society is to provide support that promotes the health and welfare of persons with physical and developmental disabilities. With funding from Community Living BC, the Comox Valley Metanoia Society provides Day Program support to individuals who require intensive support to participate in the activities of daily living.

The Society also provides the community of adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to participate in a variety of arts activities. These activities include drawing and painting, sculpture, paper and fabric crafts, music, drama, and story telling. A group of artists work cooperatively to manufacture greeting cards. The proceeds of all sales are shared by the participants. The program Is supported by the Comox Valley Association for Mentally Handicapped People, volunteer assistants and local business with no cost to the artists.

Metanoia maintains, insures and schedules a 14 passenger, lift equipped bus donated by the Lion’s Society of BC. This vehicle is available to “borrow” by other community agencies.

The offices and Day Program Center are located at 1-1491 McPhee, Courtenay.