It was a day to celebrate in Bradford as the town officially welcomed a brand new state of the art Bradford House on Thursday. “It’s a great place to live, a great place to be,” says Will Fielding a Bradford House Resident who moved in six weeks ago. “There’s lots of programs I can do and it supports the community,” he says. Bradford House is a 99 unit assisted living service for people with complex care needs. The new building doubles the size of Leap of Faith Together’s (LOFT) previous facility. “People who live here are individuals who often have mental health needs, addiction, physical health issues or needs because of cognitive impairment,” says David Fry with LOFT Community Services. “Folks who can’t easily live independently in the community. They require some additional support, 24/7 care” says Fry. The $63 million project has partially funded by all levels of government. “These are investments in people, vulnerable people in our community that need our help it’s more than about putting a roof over somebody’s head” says Graydon Smith, Ontario’s Associate minister of municipal affairs and housing. “It’s about opening doors, creating stability and ensuring members of our community have a place to call home” says James Leduc Bradford’s mayor. Several residents will take the next couple of weeks to move in. The county says these types of facilities that help so many people even those with no connection to Bradford. “This programming increases the amount of beds in Bradford West Gwillimbury which really helps us,” says Mina Fayez-Bahgat with the County of Simcoe. “As more people fill this building it opens up programming space across the board.” “That allows us to address those in desperate need of housing to get secure housing as well,” Fayez-Bahgat adds. Bradford House has been open for about ten weeks and will be at full capacity by November and there is already a waiting list, about 100 people deep.
