Pamela’s Creative Nook at McIntyre Drive
Pamela’s life changed suddenly twenty years ago when her marriage ended and the family home was sold. Overnight, she had nowhere to go. “I was homeless,” she says matter-of-factly.
She moved between relatives’ homes and short‑term rentals she could barely afford on the pension, waiting and hoping for stable social housing. What she longed for was simple: safety and independence.
Fourteen years ago, when the over‑55s McIntyre Drive development opened, she finally received an offer. For the first time in years, she could choose where she lived—and she chose with purpose.
“I picked this one only because I wanted a garden out the back.”
McIntyre Drive is designed to feel welcoming and human, despite being a large building of sixty‑nine apartments. Repeated gables echo the surrounding homes, communal gardens soften the spaces between units, and light-filled corridors and landscaped forecourts make it easy for neighbours to meet naturally. The building supports independent living for older residents and people with disabilities, offering privacy but also connection.
For Pamela, that thoughtful design has been transformative.
“It’s for my own independence. I can’t do a lot of stuff normally like I used to and, you know, with your health issues, it’s just perfect.”
Her home is now the heart of her creative life. She spends her weekdays making handmade cards and working on diamond art—hobbies that keep her grounded and well.
“It helps me a lot, because I suffer with depression. It helps me concentrate more, and I don’t think about being lonely or anything like that, because I just keep busy.”
A beautiful hand-made card made by Pamela
Her cards are more than crafts; they’re small messages of love.
“Years ago, I decided it’s something that I can leave my grandchildren to keep.”
And each birthday brings a new challenge she adores.
“My grandchildren… each year for their birthday, they have something different that they like, and I just try and make what they like.”
Her creativity also helps her family in unexpected ways. When her six‑year‑old granddaughter began having nightmares, Pamela made her a glittering crystal catcher.
“I said it will sparkle out all the energy… and she slept like a dream.”
McIntyre Drive has given Pamela not only stability but a place to give back. With encouragement from her Unison Place Manager, she ran a Christmas card‑making workshop in the communal room. Neighbours of all backgrounds joined in, discovering—sometimes for the first time—that they could make something beautiful with their own hands.
The safety, accessibility, and sense of community at McIntyre Drive hold space for all of this: her routines, her wellbeing, her creativity, her relationships.
For Pamela, having a secure home is what allowed her life to expand again.
It turned instability into independence—and survival into creativity, connection, and joy.
Read about the McIntyre Drive community
