Our vigil at Avon Crest has now lasted 50 days! Ninety-five percent of the people polled support saving Avon Crest: that’s 7,566 people and they want to be heard! A new life for Avon Crest means decades more to serve the public is the message we are trying to get across. It is a sturdy, stable building, able and worthy of repurposing, and has much to offer in the future.
Saving this building means saving our heritage, culture and architecture, saving our health, saving the environment, saving the climate and being sustainable for the future. Saving emissions is what our City Council declared they would do when they Declared a Climate Emergency on February 10, 2020! The emissions released by demolishing this building are not good for our health (especially people like me who have asthma) or the seniors living across the street on West Gore Street, the significant woodland beside the site (including plants and animals) or the general atmosphere as the transportation required to remove debris and build a new building are significant.
A decision about a community asset should involve the community! The vigil polling was overwhelmingly supportive and therefore a rethink about the future of Avon Crest should be taken at a Council level and Huron Perth Health Alliance. This is what we are vigilling for, to have that community engagement about this community asset that we have been a large part of before day one of the hospital. We are now in the “era of global boiling” and need to base all our decisions on this to work towards a more sustainable future. Supporters have asked, ” what can I do to help this effort?” The citizens of Stratford can help by emailing and/or talking to our Councillors and Mayor about designating this building so they know the wishes of the public and new life can be breathed into Avon Crest.
Lesley Walker-Fitzpatrick and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the many people who either came to the Saturday Vigil day, helped us out by vigilling during the week or taking our place when we had to work or had appointments. Your help, helped to lift our spirits, especially when we got depressed that nothing else was happening and going our way.
Jane Marie Mitchell
Continuing the work that was started in 2022.