VPL nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona branch and YWCA Cause We Care House - FAQ

It’s a joint initiative of the Vancouver Public Library, the City of Vancouver, and YWCA Metro Vancouver that features a full-service public library branch and safe, affordable housing for low-income single mothers and their children.

Budget for the entire project is $28.5 million, including design, construction and land value.

Until now, Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Strathcona, and Chinatown were the only neighbourhoods in the city without a full-service library branch, which many consecutive library boards have pursued since the 1990s.

Funding to build the branch library was approved in Vancouver’s 2012-2014 capital plan, and the partnership of the library, the City of Vancouver, and the YWCA was announced in March 2011. City Council unanimously approved the branch library and the YWCA housing community project at a public hearing in November 2013.

VPL’s new branch is roughly 11,000 square feet – one of the largest branches in the city’s library system – and features diverse public spaces and services, including a digital creation space and Internet access; flexible meeting, programming, and community gathering spaces; and a diverse collection of books, DVDs, magazines and newspapers in English and other languages.

A digital media hub for the local community

The Bud Osborn Creation Space is the first creative space of its kind in a Vancouver library branch, and features two recording studios along with equipment and software for digital storytelling and publishing. It's modelled on the popular Inspiration Lab at the Central Library.

 VPL’s nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona branch is the first major civic building in Vancouver to have an official indigenous name.
VPL asked Vancouver residents to suggest names for the new branch, and submissions were accepted online and offline over a two-month period in December 2013 and January 2014.  More than 400 submissions were received, including more than 100 from the branch’s immediate neighbourhood.

VPL’s selection of the branch’s name, nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona – the name blends the idea of ‘we are one’ in the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ (Musqueam) language and the city neighbourhood name – was inspired by the community suggestions 'Namwayut (the theme of Reconciliation Canada’s and the City of Vancouver’s Year of Reconciliation activities) and the historic city name of this neighbourhood, Strathcona.

Local First Nations were consulted on the branch name in relation to suggested First Nations names and the use of specific Coast Salish languages; approval to name the branch using the word nə́c̓aʔmat ct was provided by Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh representatives.

nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona features important community spaces and creative space named in honour of a community organizer, a dedicated midwife and an activist poet:

Wo Soon (Mary) Lee Chan Room
A community organizer in Strathcona in the 1960s, Wo Soon (Mary) Lee Chan was a key figure in advocating to preserve the neighbourhood in light of plans to demolish family homes to build a highway into downtown Vancouver.

Nellie Yip Quong Room
Nellie Yip Quong was a nurse and midwife who served women in Chinatown from the early 1900s into the 1930s. She was a Chinatown resident herself and bilingual, and often served as an interpreter in the courts and before government.

Bud Osborn Creation Space
An activist and poet known for gritty writings depicting life on the Downtown Eastside, Bud Osborn is recognized for his efforts to establish North America’s first supervised injection site, Insite, at Hastings and Main streets in Vancouver.

Opening the door to “A desire to find a sense of place in the world”
Award-winning East Vancouver artist Erica Stocking created a public art piece for the branch, with her work commissioned jointly by the Vancouver Public Library and the City of Vancouver public art program.

“My work evolves from a desire to find a sense of place in the world, often articulating distinctions of inside/outside and public/private spaces,” says Stocking, whose cast bronze door now highlights the branch’s main entrance.

First commissioned digital art at VPL
Vancouver artist Lisa g Nielsen was also commissioned to create a digital artwork for the branch, and worked with neighbourhood residents to share stories from the community. Her work was made possible thanks to a grant from the Friends of the Vancouver Public Library.

YWCA Cause We Care House includes 21 units on four floors in a mix of two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments, which will be long-term safe, affordable housing for low-income single mothers and their children. Included will be roughly 4,500 square feet of community and family program space.

YWCA Cause We Care House is named in honour of the lead donor, Cause We Care Foundation. Additional support comes from Streetohome Foundation, the Ismaili Walk, an initiative of the Ismaili Muslim community of B.C., and other generous YWCA donors.

Because these housing units are geared for low-income single mom and their families, residents’ rent contributions will be as follows: for those receiving income assistance, rent contributions will be the shelter portion of their cheque; for those with other sources of income, rent contributions will be 30 per cent of their income.

Currently the YWCA has concluded its initial intake of residents.

Applications towards the housing community are accepted online through the YWCA website at ywcavan.org/housing-apply.

 A coordinator will be on-site four days a week to foster a sense of community within the building and to connect residents to YWCA programs and other external resources. They will be facilitating bimonthly tenant meetings; mentoring residents to create committees such as gardening, safety and recycling; organizing events and community kitchens; recruiting volunteers for activities requested by the residents and providing referrals and emergency food vouchers.

YWCA Legal Educator is relocating to this location and will continue to provide information on navigating the family law system to YWCA clients.

The second floor will comprise of Community Family Program spaces. Some of the anticipated initiatives include the RICHER Initiative Social Pediatric program and YWCA Aboriginal Infant Development Mom and Child drop-in programs.