[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/perkins.jpg” caption=”Attending the grand opening celebration for the new Dr. John M. Perkins Centre is, pictured from left: Marg Harrington, director of administration for the School of Nursing; Steven Rolfe, director of program development and education for Homestead Christian Care, and assistant clinical professor, SON; John M. Perkins; Catherine Tompkins, associate dean, SON; Janet Landeen, assistant dean of undergraduate nursing education programs, SON; David Derbyshire, community development worker, Wesley Urban Ministries; and Dyanne Semogas, assistant professor, SON.”]A grand opening celebration was held recently for Homestead Christian Care's Dr. John
M. Perkins Centre, a community development centre now home to 46 affordable
apartments and the new McMaster University School of Nursing community site.

The formal partnership with Homestead, a first of its kind for the School of Nursing
(SON), means it will have office, classroom and clinic space at the Perkins Centre for
student learning within the community.

“Having this space here for our faculty to teach and our students to learn is a wonderful
opportunity for McMaster to get its students off campus and into the community where
our future nurses can see first-hand the role of nursing in community development and
health promotion,” said Catherine Tompkins, associate dean of the SON. “It is also an
opportunity for the residents to learn from our students, who will bring their talent,
skills and knowledge with them.”

Jeff Neven, director of operations for Homestead, said it is important to have a wide
demographic utilizing the Perkins Centre.

“Having students here really adds a certain vibrancy to it,” he said. “Having a connection
with the School of Nursing is really essential because it brings a holistic approach to
health.”

The Perkins Centre, located at 1429 Main St. East near Kenilworth Avenue South, was
named after John M. Perkins, a civil rights pioneer from Mississippi and tireless
proponent of Christian community development and transformation.

The building itself has been transformed. Once a derelict nightclub and rooming house,
it is now a modern, bright facility that represents “hope, renewal and transformation,”
said Graham Cubitt, Homestead's director of projects and development.

“I think this is a realization of a long-held dream of the School of Nursing,” said Steven
Rolfe, a nursing alumnus who is now director of program development and education
for Homestead and clinical faculty in nursing. “This is an important opportunity for
students to learn about nursing in a different context. It's not institutional nursing, it's
community health nursing.”