On 30 acres in the heart of Kingston, something unusual is taking shape. Providence Village, led by President & CEO Laurie French since 2022, is transforming the former Motherhouse of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul into a community of care where health, social services, and community organizations work side by side on a shared campus.
When French arrived, the concept was developed but little had been rolled out. Her early days were spent operating the Motherhouse for the 65 Sisters then in residence, down to 45 today. Since then, she has hired a team, built the infrastructure, and welcomed 14 subtenant organizations, with three more subleases being finalized this fall.
"A lot of people would say, oh, it's a community hub, you rent out space to organizations," French explains. "But the Village is so much more than that. It's the intentionality of how we bring complementary organizations together, and then how they actually work together."
That intention shows up in practice. A Subtenant Partnership Table brings organizations together regularly, and collaborations are emerging naturally. Organizations partner on workshops and events, share volunteers and resources. The Alzheimer Society of Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington has delivered education and training for Village staff. The Council on Aging now offers seniors' programs in its first-ever physical space, and H’art Centre transformed a former social area used by the Sisters into music, art, and dance studios where they run varied programming for their participants.
"There hasn't been one of those [Subtenant Partnership Table] meetings where new connections were not made. Where somebody hasn't said something like, ‘Oh, you do art therapy? That would be great for our clients or participants over here at another subtenant organization’," French says.
The Village's reach extends across the whole property. Providence Care’s AB Smith Homestead House sits on subleased land, and Providence Care is building their new Providence Manor long-term care home, which will include a YMCA daycare in the residence. Affordable housing, a part of the Sisters' original vision for the Village, is now exploring with a potential partner interested in a parcel of land on the property.
For Cory Angeletti-Szasz, the Village's Communications Consultant, the difference is the community itself. "It's all about the community that's being built here, and the collaboration and the connection," she says. "It's really starting to happen naturally."
An open house in early October welcomed the public to see what's already at the Village, and to imagine what could be. As the Sisters' footprint gradually shrinks, the Village will keep growing around them, exactly as they hoped.
French announced her retirement earlier this month, effective at the end of December 2026. The Board has begun recruiting her successor, and she will remain in the role until a new leader is in place.
"Serving as President & CEO of Providence Village has been the honour of my career," French says. "I will leave this role with enormous confidence in the Providence Village team and what they will continue to accomplish for the community."
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