'Out with the old and in with the new': YWCA Regina opens new facility

Officials cut the ribbon marking the opening of the Kikaskihtanaw Centre for Women and Families. (HalleeMandryk/CTVNews)

YWCA Regina has officially opened their new Kikaskihtanaw Centre for Women and Families.

Located at 2817 12th Avenue, it will provide both shelter and wrap around supports for women, children, and families in need.

"Our women have been in this space now for three weeks, and I can already see the way that they navigate a day, how they gather together what they're doing to support each other is different,” YWCA Regina CEO, Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen said.

Those sentiments were echoed by many who now call the centre home.

"It felt like home. It literally felt like home. Like I came here and there was no barriers or anything. It was all fresh. It was new and it was just for me.... It was like, security, safety...They went beyond anybody's expectations for it, but it's a gorgeous place. It's an absolutely beautiful place." Tanya Bunnie, a resident of the YWCA said.

Bunnie has been a resident of the YWCA since January; she emphasised how the wrap around services provided by the organization have made a world of difference.

"I was actually on the streets, I was homeless. I didn't have a place to go. I was in and out of shelters. basically, living on the streets. And then every time that I got a chance to come into the shelter, they opened me with open arms. And they were like, all right, what next? What do we what can we do for you? How can we help you?"

Since becoming a resident of the YWCA, Bunnie has become an active member of the community and is leading beading and ribbon skirt making lessons within the new facility.

"I took every opportunity to try and, you know, better myself in some kind of way mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally," Bunnie said.

Funding for the $70 million facility was a joint effort by donors, community partners, and all levels of government.

"Space that is meant to also heal does have an impact. I saw on day one of when our women came in that they felt different about where they were and what was possible. So, I think that sense of hope is something that I'm already starting to see in the women that we're serving. Coomber-Bendtsen said.

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The 96,000 square foot facility is quite the upgrade from the YWCA's previous location on McIntyre Street, both in structure and sense of community.

"It is a real family environment. On each of our floors we have, smaller kitchens...and living rooms where they can also create smaller spaces of gathering. And then downstairs in our lobby. you know, I get to go down there, throughout the day and just visit with the women that we serve." Coomber-Bendtsen said.

As someone who witnessed the transition from the previous location to the new one, Bunnie said that the difference is like night and day.

"Everybody wanted to isolate themselves and be just about themselves and not know that we were all in it together, we were all in some kind of domestic violence and some kind of, you know, hunger...homeless....So having us to be able to connect with each other and say, okay, well, I can help you and like having us be able to help each other in a safe, secure place was like the ultimate bonus," Bunnie said.

Bunnie says she plans to continue building a sense of community in the new building and encouraging those around her to keep moving forward, even in difficult times.

"Out with the old and in with the new, it was like shedding of old skin,” she said.