Sunalta Community Hub aims to give residents a gathering place, social supports

The Sunalta Community Hub opened on Monday, serving as a gathering place for residents to create shared connections.

The Sunalta Community Hub officially opened on Monday, with hopes of providing residents of the southwest community with a gathering place.

The hub aims to offer community-building activities and a variety of services to help enhance the quality of life in the area.

The community says providing a space for shared connections is a priority for Sunalta residents.

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“We’ve heard through years of community engagement that one in four Sunaltans lives on low income, over 34 per cent live alone – which is three times the City of Calgary average – and that residents self-report being food insecure and socially isolated,” said Jenny Vickers, executive director of the Sunalta Community Association.

“We also know that 27 per cent of Sunaltans came to Canada as refugees or newcomers, and so we really wanted to make sure that when we were building community, we were keeping those things in mind.”

The hub will offer a number of social support programs, with the goal of removing social isolation and improving food security.

The facility was developed as part of United Way’s Community Hubs Initiative, with the organization providing seed funding, operational support and capital investments.

The City of Calgary partnered with the community, providing $3 million toward the project’s price tag. In total, the community raised more than $5 million for the project.

“The Sunalta Community Association consists of a group of people who believed in their power to do amazing things for others,” Ward 8 Councillor Courtney Walcott said in a news release.

“They rallied a community, philanthropic investments and navigated city funding initiatives to create a neighbourhood living room where all are welcome.”

Other funding partners include the Government of Alberta, Calgary Foundation, local businesses, family foundations and area residents.