The White Rock South Surrey Hospice Society has been left struggling to remain open for the holiday season after the bottom floor of its building was flooded with water six inches deep.

The society, hosted out of a split-level home in White Rock, was flooded following a sump failure on the weekend of Dec. 2, said executive director and past mayor of White Rock, Catherine Ferguson.

"We came in on the Monday morning to find our downstairs area flooded. It's where we do a lot of our group work and where our clinical counselling goes on," said Ferguson.

According to Ferguson, the damage is estimated at $20,000, with only some of that cost being covered by insurance.

"Some of it we will have to take care of," she said. "We'll probably be looking at an increased deductible."

The damage includes desks that were sitting in water, drywall and carpet that had to be ripped up as well as massage tables used for patient relaxation.

While the site is repaired, Crescent Gardens and the South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce have allowed the hospice society to use some of their space in order to remain open during the holidays, often an important time for hospices.

"For people that are grieving and in need, we want to make sure we're able to still help them, especially during the Christmas season," said Ferguson, adding that she's grateful for the community support they've received. "We're just doing the best we can to make do."

Ferguson said the flooding is just another reminder that the hospice society needs to relocate sooner rather than later.

"This is the second time in as many years that we've had a flood downstairs. It's an old building that needs attention," she said. "The reality is that we need a new supportive care centre; we have for quite some time for space reasons."

On top of the cost of the flooding, Ferguson said that the building's roof is likely to need repair sometime soon, the cost of which is estimated to be around the $15,000 mark.

"We're in a split-level house," she said. "We need to continue to meet the needs of our community. We have an aging community and there's lots of need for a hospice here and demands are continuing to grow."

As those demands grow, the hospice's only option is to move into bigger and better facilities.

"That's something we will need the support of the community to put together," said Ferguson. "That is the priority for the society." cpoon@thenownewspaper.com

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