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Honour House in July 2013, BC Paramedic, Kim Honour House In July 2013, BC Paramedic, Kim Rousseau’s young son was admitted to a rural hospital for surgery and following the operation doctors told Kim that the hospital wasn’t equipped to deal with the severity of their son’s condition and he’d need to stay close to a larger city hospital, with specialized facilities, during his recovery. With Kim being married to a firefighter, figuring out how they were going to continue their shift work and still look after all four of their children was a major worry for her family. Kim contacted her union rep. at Ambulance Paramedics of BC to ask for help and they put them in touch with an organization called Honour House, an organization that supports members of the Canadian Armed Forces, Emergency Services Personnel, Veterans and their families as they are forced to travel to the Metro Vancouver region for any kind of medical treatment. The story behind Honour House began, not in Canada but on the dusty battlefields of Afghanistan. In March, 2006 Seaforth Highlander, Captain Trevor Greene was on patrol with a platoon from Princess Patricia’s Light Infantry as they attended a meeting with elders in the village of Shinkay. Honouring a local custom, Captain Greene had removed his helmet as a sign of respect and shortly afterwards a young man attacked him, striking him violently in the head, from behind, with an axe. The attack was the signal for an ambush and Captain Greene was evacuated, under heavy fire, by an American chopper, to Kandahar. This was just the first stop on a long and arduous road to recovery as he was then flown to intensive care facilities in Germany, Alberta and BC. Throughout this entire time, Captain Greene’s family struggled to stay by his side to support him and help him through the biggest battle of his life. Prominent Vancouver businessman, Al De Genova was deeply moved by Captain Greene’s story and it was obvious to him, that there weren’t really anywhere near enough facilities available for the families of service members when they were sick or injured and needed a place to stay. Al was actively involved in the original Ronald McDonald House opening many years ago and the incredibly successful experience that they had with that fantastic project led him to develop an idea for a similar home for our heroes. “When a family member is receiving treatment it’s hard on the entire family,” says Al, “Especially with all of the hard work and sacrifice our men and women in uniform give to the people of Canada, it’s only right for us to give back in any way we can.” Shortly afterwards, Al was attending a Vancouver Canucks game when he spotted Rear Admiral Bill Truelove and Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier in the crowd. He approached both men with his plans for Honour House and their enthusiasm, encouragement and advice for the project was exactly what Al needed to put the wheels in motion. As Al was leaving, General Hilllier approached him to shake his hand and left behind a challenge coin in his palm. Al promised to carry the coin with him every single day until Honour House became a reality. Several properties were looked at as potential sites for the house but it was a call from the Mayor of New Westminster, who encouraged Al and his committee to come to the Royal City, as he felt that he had found the perfect site for Honour House. Honour House Society bought the home, soon after, on 509 St. George Street and work began almost immediately. After months of hard work by many different local companies and individuals the house was officially opened by Honourary Patron, Captain Trevor Greene and his wife Debbie on November 10th 2010 and Honour House was ready to receive its first guests. Honour House is a registered charity that receives no direct funding, raising all of its operating costs through donations and fundraising. The house has only one full time and one part time member of staff and almost all of the work needed to keep Honour House running is tirelessly carried out by a dedicated and hardworking board of directors and volunteers, many of whom have served their country themselves. Since it opened, Honour House has provided well over two thousand nights of accommodation for our country’s brave men and women in uniform and their families. If you have served your country and need to use Honour House or if you’d like to help Honour House to help our heroes and their families please visit their website at www.honourhouse.ca for more information. .
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