Official Opening Ceremony for Homewood Ravensview


Last week was a big one for us here at Ravensview.  Not only did we open our doors to our first clients on Monday, but we welcomed over 90 guests to Ravensview on Tuesday for our official grand opening ceremony.

I had the honor of hosting the ceremony with an exceptional group of speakers including former Governor General of Canada, the Right Honorable David Johnston as well as the Honorable Bob Rae, Regional BC Chief Terry Teegee, Shelagh Rogers, CBC Host and University of Victoria Chancellor, Chief Rebecca David of the Pauquachin First Nation and Jagoda Pike, President and CEO of Homewood Health.

The ceremony also included talks from former Homewood alumni, and local community representatives, Adam Olsen (MLA) and Geoff Orr (Mayor of North Saanich).

Situated in our third floor relaxation lounge, the vista that stretched before all of us was a stunning reminder of how connected we are to the land that Ravensview sits upon.  Pauquachin elder Curtis Henry brought this to life telling the story of the great flood from thousands of years ago where our mountain was a place of refuge, as it continues to be today, with Homewood helping those in need.

Described by many of those that attended the ceremony as being “magical”, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Chief Rebecca presented Jagoda Pike with a hand carved canoe, a symbol from the story of the mountain and representing our four years of partnership and collaboration.

As we begin this great new chapter, I’m thankful for all the truly amazing people we have working at Ravensview. I’ve been doing this a long time and the 50 staff we have onsite here are dedicated, passionate and not to mention, the absolute best in their fields.  I can’t tell you the number of clients that have already commented on how welcome they feel as well as well taken care of – from our chef to our therapists.

After two solid years bringing Ravensview to life, last week was full of the reasons why we’ve been working so hard – seeing clients ready to get better, the relief from family members knowing we’re here to help and being able to explain to people why what we do is so different from anywhere else.

Robert de Clark

General Manager, Homewood Ravensview