Victoria – May 20, 2010 - The Access Health Centre celebrated its restored heritage building today with the mounting of a bronze plaque on 713 Johnson Street outlining the building’s history. Hallmark Society’s administrative director Helen Edwards presented the building’s owners, AIDS Vancouver Island and Victoria Cool Aid Society, with an Award of Merit for the building’s heritage restoration.

“The Hallmark Society was impressed not only by the quality of the heritage restoration,” said Helen Edwards, “but also because it was completed by non-profit partners actively engaged in improving the downtown core.” The project was managed by CitySpaces Consulting.

Victoria – On World AIDS Day, December 1, 2009, the Victoria Cool Aid Society and AIDS Vancouver Island, along with their partners and funders, will celebrate the official opening of Access Health Centre – a community centre that offers integrated health and support services to people in Victoria’s who struggle with homelessness, problematic substance use, HIV/AIDS, and/or mental health issues and other health challenges.

“We are delighted to take this opportunity to highlight this significant achievement and to thank those who have made this project possible through their generous contributions,” said Kathy Stinson, Executive Director of the Victoria Cool Aid Society. “We are pleased that the Access Health Centre is close to meeting its mortgage free goal - $4.3 million has been raised through government funding and community support towards the $5.3 million project. We still need to raise the last million dollars.”

Victoria – Thanks to generous gifts totalling $103,000 pledged this month, the Access Health Centre is now within $1 million of its $5.3 million funding target. Paying the remainder of reconstruction costs will free up operating dollars for spending on critical health care and social services for 6,000 of the region’s most vulnerable individuals. The Victoria Cool Aid Society and AIDS Vancouver Island are offering a building naming opportunity for the beautiful heritage building at 713 Johnson Street downtown for the last $1 million.

Victoria – Victoria Cool Aid Society’s Community Health Care Centre will re-open for patients September 15 at its new location in the Access Health Centre , 713 Johnson Street downtown.

Cool Aid has been providing community health services in the Capital Region for 40 years, including primary health care, counselling, dental care and a dispensing pharmacy. Cool Aid’s health team includes doctors and nurses, counsellors, a nutritionist, psychiatrist, acupuncturist, podiatrist; dentists and dental hygienists; and a pharmacist and pharmacy technician. The Cool Aid Community Health Centre supports 4,000 patients each year who are homeless, vulnerable due to mental illness or disabilities, are living on very low incomes, or who have drug addictions.