Historical Evolution

The Kinsmen Club of Sudbury, a community based service organization, has been actively involved in community service and charitable functions for many years. As part of it's service activities, the Sudbury Kinsmen provided financial assistance to many Sudbury area residents who had to travel to larger centers for special medical treatment. They were one of the first clubs to support the CF clinic at Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto. In late 1983, a CF clinic for Northern Ontario was established at Laurentian Hospital and the Sudbury Kinsmen received requests for travel and lodging assistance from people who traveled from all areas of Northern Ontario to Sudbury.

With the growth of Sudbury as the medical referral centre of Northeastern Ontario, an increase in the frequency and urgency of these requests was experienced. Several committees were formed to develop policy and procedure in order to deal with the increased load. The members of the club decided that assistance from the community would be required as it could no longer be a simple service project of the club. The Kinsmen created a foundation known as the Sudbury Kinsmen Family Centre Foundation. This foundation was governed by a volunteer board whose goal was to develop and administer a means of providing affordable accommodation for those individuals from outside the Sudbury region. In 1984, an agreement with several hotels for the use of vacant guestrooms was completed and it was decided to implement the program on a trial basis with a review after its' initial year of operation. In the first year, the Kinsmen assisted 120 families with accommodations at a reduced cost. After discussions with hotel owners and staff, it was decided to carry on with the program. In the second year, as the program became more widely known, a sub-agency called Information Sudbury was contracted to accept phone requests and to process any inquiries and reservations for the program. At the end of the second year, the Sudbury Kinsmen had assisted 280 families.

In 1986, with a change in club leadership, several members voiced concerns about the increased work load placed on its members. A special vote was held and the Sudbury Kinsmen Club voted to relinquish control of the Foundation and to turn it over to a Board of Directors appointed from the community. It was decided to maintain the name Sudbury Kinsmen Family Centre Foundation, in recognition of the clubs' vision, hard work and dedication provided in the initial years of conception and operation. Several board members of the Foundation were current or former Kinsmen members.

In the summer of 1987, it became apparent that the original agreement with the hotels had exceeded expectation and was not working as originally intended. A sub-committee of the Board of Directors undertook a search and identified a favorable site near the hospital. Being under new ownership, the motel was interested in working with our program. After negotiations, the motel was contracted to offer rooms for our program at a reduced rate. Over the next several years, the program became more efficient as was able to experience growth capable of providing assistance to over 5000 people annually.

In 1997, the Board of Directors approved the purchase of an existing motor hotel, The Grand Prix Inn The marketing firm retained by the Foundation recommended that the existing facility name be changed, and as a result the House of Kin / Maison de Kin was adopted. This name reflects the true expression of family and
relatives and the care and support that they receive from our local society as a whole.

In October 1997, the House of Kin was able to offer its' affordable accommodation and support program from our own home. Today, nearly five years later, in our home away from home, our program has been utilized by more than 45,000 people needing assistance while in Sudbury either receiving medical care or supporting a family member, relative, or friend in hospital. Currently our occupancy rate for rooms averages above 80 % weekly and we know that as the regional care centre comes more on line, we will see waiting lists of people who want to stay with us and experience our service. Some of our guests have not had the ability to pay but they are still considered family and are treated with the same respect and compassion as others who are financially able.