“What started as a dream among so few is now a reality for many,” Saskatchewan Minister of Social Services, June Draude told a crowd of people gathered at the naming ceremony for McEwen Manor on December 13, 2011.

McEwen Manor is a $6 million, a three-storey, mixed-use building, which includes 40 housing units for people with serious mental health conditions and cognitive disabilities who require support to live independently.

The idea to create McEwen Manor began in 2006, when Ranch Ehrlo Society employees Malcolm Neill and Helen Finucane ran into a former Ranch youth who discussed the difficulties of finding affordable housing in Regina while living with severe mental health issues.

Wanting to address this issue in the community, a broad partnership was formed with the Phoenix Residential Society, the Canadian Mental Health Association, Regina Branch, the Schizophrenia Society of Saskatchewan, Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region, the City of Regina, the Province of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Canada.

“I would like to emphasize the collaborative nature that has taken place between Ranch Ehrlo and Phoenix Residential Societies,” commented Lem Boyd, President of the Phoenix Residential Society board of directors. “We are working together to ensure that people with long-term mental illness and cognitive disorders will have a safe, affordable place to stay.”

The building has officially been named McEwen Manor after former board chair R.M. (Bob) McEwen. Bob was an active board member for many years and was the chair of Ehrlo Community Services, a former division of Ranch Ehrlo Society, from 2005 to 2007.

Jim Kenyon, Chair of the Ranch Ehrlo Society board of directors took a moment at the ceremony to thank Bob and his family for coming and to list his many services to the agency. “I would like to thank Bob McEwen for his leadership and development of this excellent facility.”

“Bob continued to provide invaluable leadership on this project, even after his term on the board had ended,” Jim added.

The first residents will be moving into the building in January 2012. For more information about McEwen Manor check out our fact sheet.