Sudbury Youth outreach program receives custom trailer

Funding from the Ontario Association of Architects, and donations from several community partners, allowed SACY to acquire a trailer to give them more room. (Photo courtesy of Mike Ladyk)

Sudbury -

Like many organizations during the pandemic, the Sudbury Action Centre for Youth (SACY) was trying to find ways to welcome clients to its doors in a safe way.

Originally officials wanted to expand its building, but quickly realized that wouldn’t be possible.

“Because the property is so tight, there’s really nowhere to add," said local architect and former SACY board member Mike Ladyk.

"And there were some legal issues, as well as code issues that prevented an addition -- plus financial issues, obviously, as well it’s a very expensive thing to do so we started talking about something else."

That’s when the idea of a trailer came to light. Funding from the Ontario Association of Architects, and donations from several community partners, allowed Ladyk and his team to put plans in place.

“I want to be able to meet people where they’re at because a lot of the times a lot of folks aren’t able to make it here," said Karissa Cantin, outreach worker with SACY.

"So I want to go where they’re at and I want to create this as a safe space where they can go and feel comfortable. If they need supplies, (they're) easily accessible. (If) they’re feeling down, they just need to go inside and warm up and have someone to talk to."

Ladyk said the trailer should be delivered sometime next week. The hope is that it's just Phase 1 of the project, with solar panels in the future allowing for the trailer to have lights while on the road. He said the inside of the trailer was painted white in hopes of future murals done by some of the youth.