Hospice House unveils new summer rec room

The summer schedule at the Prince George Hospice House will be a little more full this year.

They have unveiled their new Rec Room, a repurposed garage that will host multiple new programs including woodworking, arts and crafts, journaling, and more.

“We are really excited about it,” Denise Torgerson, the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society’s Community Programs Manager told My PG Now.

“We have decided to extend our lens. In this space, the focus is on wellness. So many people are grieving and have a life-limiting illness but don’t feel the need for a support group,” she said. “We know all of those experiences can be really isolating.”

Torgerson explained the intention for the space is to be somewhere where people don’t need to talk about what is going on, “but it is really lovely for people to be in a room with people who get it.”

Residents have already started to use the space, Torgerson said woodworking and arts sessions were held earlier this week.

“People are pretty excited,” she said. “Small groups of people right now, but we think over the summer it will grow.”

The space was largely designed for “instrumental grievers,” which Torgerson said are people who grieve by doing things.

“That was one of the reasons we built this, to create reasons to bring people together to do stuff,” she said.

“We are thrilled to share the new Rec Room Programs, demonstrating our commitment to providing comprehensive and innovative support to our community,” said Donna Flood, Executive Director of PGHPCS. “We extend our deepest gratitude to the community for their unwavering support and contributions, both financial and in kind, which have made this expansion possible.