Brandon Community Welcome Co-op

Since its initiation, Brandon Community Welcome Co-op Inc. has been a place where those in mental illness recovery can find safe and affordable housing. Each of our five independent-living suites is occupied, helping our members to overcome one of the biggest hurdles to lasting recovery, having a place to call home.

As a newly established organization, Brandon Community Welcome moved into their new home after taking ownership of the historic Smith House in 1983, purchasing it from the City for $1.00.

For post-psychiatric patients in Brandon, housing was often the most prominent hurdle to overcome. And so, led by director Doris Armstrong, and with funding from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, the first step as new owners was to renovate the building to hold a total of 6 self-contained apartments.

Old houses often come with a unique set of struggles with maintenance and repair, and the Welcome Inn is no exception. There was a brief period where the building had to be shut down in order to complete an extensive list of repairs given by Brandon Area Planning, the funding for which was provided by a second mortgage through Manitoba Housing and Renewal Corporation. After reopening in 2005, the organization was growing, and the single suite on the main floor was renovated and converted for programming and administration purposes.

Although it hasn’t been without its struggles, we are incredibly proud of what our organization has accomplished over the years, how far we have come, and what we continue to do for the Mental Health community.