What started as a church giving up its space to help the neighbourhood has become a thriving community three years later.

The West End Commons on St. Matthews Avenue celebrated its three-year anniversary this year and with that came some reflection.

Cheryl Starr, the community connector, says she has seen some incredible stories over the past three years. One that came to mind was a family who had two older daughters. When the apartment became too cramped, they were able to offer the daughters their own apartment. They have since gotten jobs and are doing very well.

"That shows that the skills that they gained here they were able to take out into the workforce," Starr said, referring to their in-house tenant employment program, which gives residents a chance to work in the building. They can do stuff like cleaning or event hosting, earning both cash and valuable work skills.

Reverend Gwen McAllister says the project wouldn't have happened without the church that used to take up the entire building giving up some of its power and privilege.

The Church, St. Matthews Anglican Church, was seeing a decline in attendance three years ago and was trying to figure out how they could help the community using the beautiful building that they owned. There was a need for low-income housing, so that is what the church community did.

Three years later, the church operates out of a significantly reduced space, with members of the community welcome to attend if they would like. McAllister says a few have, but the biggest change is the kids who come in and out of the church.

"It's really fun, it's actually been really great for us," McAllister said.

Starr hopes the next three years look similar, which means giving low-income families the best chance to succeed.

"I really enjoy getting to know the community," Starr said about her job.