I
T has been said that some of the most beautiful
dreams are born in the less desirable moments of our lives. Kelowna’s Ken and Linda Stober know this firsthand. “I like to call them necessary endings,” Ken explains. “It’s hard to believe when you’re doing something good, that something even better is waiting for you in the future.” Seven years ago, Ken called it quits on the family construction business. He had spent 26 years as part of the fabric of Al Stober Construction, but when work-related tension with his dad started taking a toll on his well-being, Ken knew he had to leave. “Our business relationship had come to an end. I wanted to make a different kind of impact on Kelowna away from building buildings. It was the hardest year of my life as I had no clear backup plan.” All Ken knew was that he wanted to help people. He leaned heavily on his wife and best friend of 25 years, Linda, for support. “We did a lot of talking and dreaming up what the future could look like for us,” she recalls. Ken kept coming back to his passion for encouraging people and nurturing mental health. It was out of this passion that Third Space Life Charity was born.
“It came from my own experience and journey to find health and healing. I looked back at all the times I needed help and it was hard to find the answers to life’s big questions,” explains Ken. Third Space was created to be a barrier-free community space that offers people help and hope. “The beauty of this is that if you can afford to pay for counselling, you can, but the charity raises money for our community care program and that’s for people to access counselling who can’t afford it.” The counselling centre in Kelowna’s Landmark District is a friendly space, staffed with counsellors who are hand-selected by the Stobers. Just across the hall is Third Space Coffee Shop, a cosy gathering spot from which all profits are donated back to the charity. “Your first space is your home, your second space is where you work and your third space is your community,” explains Linda. “The coffee shop is our community space.” The Third Space community extends far beyond the walls of its counselling centre and coffee shop. Through a rare partnership with the University of British Columbia School of Social Work, Third Space is able to offer free counselling to university students. More than 1,500 UBCO students benefitted from the service last year. boulevardmagazines.com |
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