| Tucked into a nondescript strip mall beside a pizza joint and a 7-Eleven is a program operated by The Alex Community Health Centre that’s trying to change the world one load of wash at a time.
Suds ‘n Savings is the former Spiller Laundromat (2012 Spiller Road S.E.) located in the neighbourhood of Ramsay. What had devolved into a place where drug abusers once congregated is now a brightly lit, fully functional Laundromat with a much larger mission attached to it.
For $20 per year, residents can become members of the Laundromat which entitles them to the use of the washers and dryers for 50 cents a load. Yet, what Suds ‘n Savings is really about is people.
"We want to be a community meeting space," says Myriam Gillespie who is in charge of the project for The Alex. "We want people to know about The Alex and the help that’s available. This is a great little community centre, that’s how we look at it more than a Laundromat."
Open since July of last year, the Laundromat-community centre is still relatively unknown by residents who live in the area. One of the people who accidentally discovered the help that’s available is Rob Knight. After losing his job as a building caretaker he ended up homeless and living in his truck for more than a month.
"I came in here and the staff helped me find a place to live," he says.
Today Knight is back to check out the notice board and to use one of the two computers located at the front of the Laundromat that are available free of charge.
"I’m using the computer to look for work," he says. "I’m lucky this place was here." |
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