Since 2017, the HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial (HAMM) has been a downtown Courtenay attraction and one of the top museums in the Comox Valley since 2005.

The umbrella organization, The Alberni Project, has been in the Comox Valley since 2002 and began in Seattle in 1999. In the past 25-plus years, TAP has given the public a glimpse of Canadian military history through stories of people living in war and crisis. Schools, public tour groups, and military veterans have all been part of the HAMM experience for years.

That may be a thing of the past, mainly due to the homelessness situation the museum has faced for the past five years since the opening of Connect. The board of directors has been forced to make some serious decisions.

HAMM has faced several challenges over the years. From 2013 until this year, HAMM has been moved more than 14 times. This has been due to its rental units being rented out from under it, flash floods, arson attacks, and two years of Covid closure. However, this time, HAMM has a challenge that is not of its own making: the loss of support, local visitors, and the extreme drop in donations and business sponsorships.

The effect of the homeless problem surrounding HAMM鈥檚 location has resulted in cancelled tours and tourists writing and changing their plans due to concerns about the neighbourhood in which the museum is located.

At the recent AGM of The Alberni Project Society (TAPS), it was discussed that the museum faces a complete closure if it can not find its own building in the Comox Valley. Possible sites have been looked at in Port Alberni and Campbell River, but these were impractical since HAMM has been an integral part of the Comox Valley for many years.

HAMM has found a property in the Village of Cumberland that would be ideal for a permanent home of the HMCS ALBERNI Museum and Memorial, with plenty of room to expand on its Remembrance programming, ongoing exhibits, and service to Canadian veterans and their families. TAPS's greatest challenge is finding funding through private, corporate, and philanthropic donations to purchase the large two-story building. Having its own building for the museum would also reduce the yearly operating costs of the Courtenay location鈥檚 yearly budget.

In the years since the pandemic, the organization has been struggling with the donations and grants available to continue the museum鈥檚 presence. This has required the volunteers, including the founder, Lewis Bartholomew, to use his funds to keep the museum publicly available. Early into the two years of Covid uncertainty, HAMM lost a significant grant from the City of Courtenay and was told the grant would no longer be available to the organization. In 2023, an operations grant applied for from the Comox Valley Community Foundation was rejected due to 鈥渇eedback from our reviewers indicated that they did not have familiarity with the museum.鈥�

Bartholomew emphasizes that the TAPS organization acknowledges the critical role the local community plays in addressing the needs of individuals experiencing homelessness or struggling with mental health and addiction issues. However, he argues that the city's current approach to the issue has resulted in the displacement or permanent closure of numerous businesses, undermining efforts to preserve the resilience of the community in the face of this crisis.

To help with the general funding of the museum in its current location or to offer a gift donation to acquire the Cumberland property, contact james.derry@alberniproject.org