RayCam Community Centre had it’s genesis in 1971 when a group of parents from the newly built Raymur Place (now Stamp’s Place) social housing complex banded together to protect their children. When the complex was completed in 1967, the issue of the housing project’s proximity to the Canadian National and Burlington Northern railway tracks and the elementary school was first identified. Raymur Place was home to a significant number of children whose school catchment area was Seymour Elementary School and the only way to get to and from the school each day was to traverse the tracks, dodging moving trains and often slipping between cars that were stopped and blocking the way.

A group of mostly single mothers formed a community action group and starting in January of 1971, erected a blockade of the railway, demanding that an overpass be built to insure the safety of their children. After their initial attempts at petitioning the civic government and their first blockade was met with inaction, a larger, more permanent blockade of tents in March of the same year, garnered national media attention and dubbed the group: The Militant Mothers of Raymur Place. After two nights and three days, the City of Vancouver agreed to build an overpass, which was completed in time for the start of the next school year (September 1971).

This new community group, now galvanized by their campaign of civil disobedience, successfully lobbied to have a Co-op Food store established at the housing complex. After the foundation of this key community support, the residents began to advocate for the construction of a community centre for the now over 1200 residents of Raymur Place, which included over 700 children. By 1973, the City of Vancouver had agreed to the building of the new Ray-Cam Cooperative Centre (so named for the housing complex’s location between Raymur and Campbell Avenues), a joint effort of area residents, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the City of Vancouver. Ray-Cam officially opened in 1976, as a community-led Cooperative Association mandated to ensure “maximum participation in the planning and operation of the centre’s programs”.

A significant renovation and expansion of the centre took place in 2007 and this facility continues to provide vital support, recreational programs and childcare for local residents, seniors, children and families. Today, the spirit of the Mothers lives on in RayCam’s proud history of supporting families and community.