A lot has changed for Dorie's House in the one year since its official sod turning on July 5th, 2016 - in fact, everything has.

The one year anniversary marked the celebration of not just the literal breaking-of-ground on the site of the eventual Southwest Youth Emergency Shelter (SwYES), but also the ground-breaking work and support put into building Dorie's House.

The house, which opened on January 15th, 2017, has seen contributions from what seems to be thousands of people, according to SwYES board member Ron Toles.

"Isn't this a great place to live? I said this morning that there's hardly a person in this city that hasn't had some sort of impact on that building," he said. "Whether it was through time, labour, cash, volunteering, donations of all kinds of items - everybody has just chipped in to make this place happen."

Noteably among those who have contributed, are Tom and Charmaine Westbury - the latter of which was just announced as a new board member moving forward.

"The board has certainly worked hard, but the credit for the building and everything goes to Charmaine and Tom, and all of their friends in the construction industry," said Toles, who is also currently serving on his second term on City Council." When the call went out for help, they responded in a huge way, and have just done enormous amounts of work."

Toles, who served as host on behalf of SwYES Chairperson Bob Hale for the one-year anniversary celebration, says the mindset he and the board have had since the beginning has come down to one question.

"'How much is one life worth?' If we can save one kid from doing any kind of harm to themself or others, or giving them a safe place to be, then this has certainly been worth every penny."

And with the support that has been, and continues to be shown by the entire region, Toles feels that question is being answered with an overwhelming positive response.

Those looking to contact SwYES to inquire about potential items of need, or just general information, can do so by emailing them at southwestyes@gmail.com, phoning Dorie's House at 306-773-8937, or the Executive Director line at 306-773-8938.