A Letter from the Eli’s Place Board Chair
Dear Supporters,
If you haven’t heard already, Eli’s Place is now planning exciting next steps to enable us to launch!
Over the past 9 months we have been negotiating with representatives of the Ignatius Jesuit Centre (IJC), just north of Guelph, to define our path forward. In early November, both parties signed an agreement in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding.
We hope to have a formal agreement in place soon to lease their existing residence. Some renovations to the residence will be required to provide a safe and secure environment for our clients and to ensure we have the dedicated spaces necessary to offer a variety of treatment modalities. We will have exclusive use of a section of land for our activities, as well as access to shared opportunities within IJC.
Set within a 600-acre conservation area, our clients will find a quiet and nurturing space to begin their healing. Together with some of the IJC staff, we will provide outdoor programming that is rooted in farming, gardening, conservation, trail management and other seasonal activities.
This tranquil setting will provide the therapeutic milieu at the heart of our model.
The Jesuits of Canada have owned this land for over 100 years, cultivating spiritual growth and ecological engagement through programs in land stewardship, education, and community agriculture. Eli’s Place will complement IJC’s longstanding charitable and community-focused work, offering our program within a spiritual — though explicitly non-religious — framework that is central to our mission.
Over the coming months, we will be searching for senior management and clinical staff and will begin hiring. We will undertake the necessary renovations to Loyola House and concretize our programming model. We will meet with municipal leaders to confirm zoning compatibility and with local mental health agencies to develop potential partnerships.
This is a very exciting time for our organization with much that needs to be accomplished. We are grateful for your ongoing support and encouragement and hope you will continue to follow and share in our progress.
With gratitude for your support,
Dr. Howard Hamer
Eli’s Place Board Chair
What This Means for Eli’s Place
This update marks a significant milestone in the journey toward opening Eli’s Place:
- New Site Identified: The organization has negotiated an agreement in principle with the Ignatius Jesuit Centre near Guelph for use of an existing residence and surrounding land.
- Natural Setting for Healing: The property aligns beautifully with the farm-based therapeutic model Eli’s Place aims to offer, blending structured care with connection to nature.
- Next Steps: With the Memorandum of Understanding signed, the team will move toward finalizing a formal lease, renovating the space, building out programs, and hiring key staff.
This progress brings Eli’s Place closer than ever to opening doors and offering a unique recovery environment — one rooted in long-term growth, community support, and real-world skills, addressing a gap in care for young adults with serious mental illness in Canada.
Why This Matters
Traditional clinical settings — while critically important — often don’t offer the extended, hands-on environment many young adults need to build lasting resilience and independence. Eli’s Place aims to fill that gap with a proven effective model.
By situating healing within nature and community, Eli’s Place will encourage meaningful recovery through the cultivation of skills that carry forward into life beyond treatment.
Eli’s Place Communications Team
Our Eli’s Place blogs are developed & written by the Eli’s Place Editorial Team — a collaboration between staff and volunteers committed to raising awareness about serious mental illness in Canada. We aim to inform, inspire, and engage with readers who care about mental health and recovery.
- Eli’s Place Communications Team
- Eli’s Place Communications Team
- Eli’s Place Communications Team
- Eli’s Place Communications Team
