What does the program offer?
The Better at Home program offers non-medical services to seniors on Cortes.

– Home Support
– Food Security
– Transportation

Who is this program for?
The program is for residents of Cortes Island that are
• 65 years of age or older
• Between 60 & 65 with mobility or health challenges*

BAH Food Security
We offer 3 meals a month through our Meals on Wheels program that we run with Sunflower Foods, in-home food prep support & veggie boxes (summer) from Big Fir Farm. In the spring, fall and winter we have regular community lunches that we organize together other organizations. (next lunch: Thursday September 12th at Mansons Hall)

BAH Home Support
We offer light housekeeping and light gardening, small home repairs, wood stacking, help with outdoor chores etc… We offer up to two to three hours of each service per month. We have a waiting list for some services.

Tech Support
We offer in home tech support and can help you with any digital questions – from ipad settings to printer connections, program updates on your desktop, mobile phone apps, fraud prevention and general trouble shooting.

Transportation

Klahoose Bus
We offer one monthly trip with the Klahoose Health Bus for each client and more trips for those that need medical treatment on a regular basis.

Seniors Helping Seniors
We offer rides for seniors on and off island with volunteers. Carina Verhoeve is our SHS coordinator. You can call her Monday-Friday between 10& 5 at 250-935-6793

Interested to become a client? Send an email to Ester: betterathomecortes@gmail.com and I will send you an intake form (confidential) to fill in. Or call 250-204-2116 and I can help you fill in the form over the phone or take down your address so I can mail you a hard copy. 

If a statutory holiday lands on a Monday, mail will come in and go out on the following Tuesday. However, on Tuesdays mail doesn’t arrive until 2:30pm.

Keep in mind that wicket hours are weather dependent. Mansons Landing Post Office is fully automated which means that if there is no power, there is no mail. In addition, if ferries aren’t operating due to bad weather then mail won’t arrive at the Post Office until Maggie can make it to town again.

The Mansons Landing Post Office has been in existence since 1941, although originally it was the Cortes Island Post Office which opened in 1893 and again in 1904 after a 6 year closure.

CCEDA works to foster a resilient and diversified local economy for Cortes Island by promoting and advocating for the health and wellbeing of all living beings in our community; developing dynamic and responsive strategies and programs that increase community capacity; collaborating on regional economic development partnerships and initiatives; and conducting research to support community economic development.

YOUTH PROGRAMS:

The CCHA fund ands runs a number of community programs to support the health and wellbeing of youth and families on Cortes Island. 

FAMILY SUPPORT 

The Family Support program exists to support island families in becoming healthy, strong and resiliant. 

HEALTH SERVICES

Mental Health, Foot Care, Travel Assistance Program, Equipment Loans, Telehealth, Augmented Home Support. 

CLINIC HOURS

Clinic Hours: Monday – Friday 9 – 4pm 

Closed: noon – 1pm 

Listeners from Europe, India and Mexico tune in regularly as Cortes Community Radio is broadcast over the internet at cortesradio.ca and on popular apps such as Tunein.

Cortes Radio aims to bring you intelligent, innovative, entertaining and alternative programming. We deliver locally produced news (CKTZ NEWS) and community announcements daily. 

Your volunteer radio hosts and DJs could range anywhere from 10 years old to 70 plus! People of all ages, experiences, perspectives, cultures and backgrounds have the opportunity to get creative with radio and acquire media skills at the station.

Cortes Radio is also a great way to learn about any concerns, interests and activities of the Northern Gulf Islands. Community groups are welcome to use the radio as an opportunity to communicate with the public in general.

As a not-for-profit society, Cortes Community Radio relies on volunteers for programming with one staff member, Sean Coyote, who is the operations/technical director.

We are the non-aboriginal partners in the Cortes Forestry General Partnership with the Klahoose First Nation. This partnership manages the Community Forest land base on Cortes Island, BC, which is located within the unceded traditional territories of the Klahoose people.

The Cortes Island Community Foundation values innovation, generosity, and collaboration by listening to community needs, supporting local organizations, and investing in a thriving future. We showcase these values through grants and funding, building partnerships, assessing needs/impacts, and investing for social and economic impact with our financial and human resources.

The DeathCare Collective strives to integrate death as part of life by…

• Empowering, guiding, and supporting the practice and process of caring for our own dead and dying, in community.
• Initiating conversations, providing education, and encouraging people to prepare for end-of-life.
• Providing calm, steady guidance for those grappling with sudden and unexpected loss.
• Incorporating holistic care from terminal diagnosis to burial or cremation for the death journeyer and their loved ones.
• Navigating gaps between health care and death care in our remote location.
• Working to make home deaths more accessible for those who prefer this.

Death as Sacred

We view death as a sacred transition that brings profound change. We honour this journey by empowering individuals and loved ones to explore options, participate actively, incorporate ritual and beauty wherever possible, and create space for grief and love to flow.

We work closely with other agencies including: B.C. Ambulance, RCMP, Emergency Social Services, B.C. Forest Service, Canadian Coast Guard, Search and Rescue, and Canadian Armed Forces. Because we are the largest Public Safety organization on the island, we play a key role in providing life safety, property conservation and environmental conservation services.

Thanks to community input and financial contributions, the Cortes Housing Society has purchased 51 acres of flat, residentially-zoned land, within a five-minute walk of central Mansons Landing. We are working to develop multiple types of housing on this land starting with the construction of 24 rental townhomes adjacent to the firehall and Mansons Hall property. This project utilizes 6 acres of the 51 acre property. We are also working to develop an affordable home ownership model on the southern part of the property accessed off of Cemetery road.

The Cortes Wood Makerspace is a project of Cortes Housing Society in partnership with the Cortes Community Forest Coop which aims to provide a professional woodworking shop accessible to Cortes home owners, builders, hobbyists and professionals. It is specifically geared to help people who are building shelters on a small budget. CWM offers memberships with a small annual fee. Usage is charged on a sliding scale fee per hour. Cortes Wood Makerspace is located at Orchard Village Shop, 671 Sutil Point Rd

The idea behind the newly formed Cortes Community Land Trust is that instead of only building new structures, which given the high price of new construction is not always cost-effective, we also seek out suitable existing homes to buy, which will be rented to fulfill community housing needs.

Although it has a small space, there is space for 11 members . Membership in the studio gives you access to all the equipment and glazes. You supply your own clay. Members are asked to have some experience with working in a pottery studio or that they take a class. Classes are offered at the pottery studio for both children and adults.

In the last few years, the membership has become more organized, and many improvements have been made to the space and equipment. There is a relatively new kiln and three newer wheels, as well as three older wheels that work well. None of the members would call themselves “production” potters, but all are developing their skill, feeding their creative muse and cultivating a successful collective enterprise.

In 2025, the Cortes Housing Society took over management of the Seniors Village. 

CISS provides programs with Seniors helping Seniors program, and assistance to people in need, most recently, with the help of the Better at Home program.

The Cortes Women’s Resource Centre was created to achieve a balance of power within the Cortes Island community (gender-based, political & economic).  Engineered by a group of 6 thoughtful, determined women who volunteered their time – the Centre opened in January 2019.  

Since our founding in 2019, we have been determined to make an impact on Cortes and be a community resource, gathering place and promote creative empowerment for women, children*, trans and non-binary individuals. The core of our efforts is to bring our team’s fresh ideas and passion to the range of activities we’re involved in. Through all of our endeavours we hope to display the conviction behind our beliefs and create opportunities for the island community members. *12 and under

You can donate or become a member on FOCI’s website, as well as learn more about its history and the various projects it stewards.

The Reel Youth Film Festival is a celebration of short films made by youth
19 years and under.  Insightful and entertaining, the touring festival collects films from across Canada, the US and abroad to put together an engaging program
of some of the best youth filmmaking today.