'The possibilities are endless': YWCA asks city for $1M in funding for new healing lodge
YWCA Regina is asking the City of Regina to contribute $1.07 million dollars to go towards a healing lodge and ceremonial space in its new building.
Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen, CEO of YWCA Regina, said 80 per cent of the women who the YWCA works with are Indigenous, so this space will be another step towards healing and reconciliation.
“The lodge peace of this really connects the work that we do on crisis services, outreach and some of the preventative programming that we have with healing. It’s an opportunity for folks, as they navigate homelessness and violence, to have an opportunity to engage in culture and ceremony and connect with elders in the community,” Coomber-Bendtsen said.
The healing lodge would be part of the new building being constructed by YWCA. The new centre is estimated to cost $54 million and the healing lodge would cost about $4 million of that.
Coomber-Bendtsen said the hope is to have shovels in the ground for the new build by Spring 2022.
YWCA is asking for $4 million in Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) funds. If approved, the city would cover $1.07 million of that with the rest coming from provincial and federal governments.
The city has $132 million remaining in its ICIP funding.
The YWCA said the lodge would be at the centre of new facility with everything else built around it. It would be open to the community and would be open year round.
The lodge is being stewarded by All Nations Hope Network.
“Specifically by a group of matriarch elders in our community,” Coomber-Bendtsen said. “So access to traditional medicines, medicine practitioners as well as ceremony. Those will be hosted by All Nations Hope Network and elders in the community.”
The gathering space will be designed from Indigenous ways of knowing. It will be available for celebrations, one-on-one counselling services, teachings and more.
“The possibilities are endless,” Coomber-Bendtsen said.
Regina Mayor Sandra Masters said this would be a benefit to the city as a whole in helping women fleeing domestic violence.
“Ensuring they have not just a safe space to go and not be turned away - we know they are turning folks away - but also to have that healing components,” Masters said. “That partnership with All Nations Hope to lead the cultural healing process as well is vitally important as we look forward to trying to address some of those underlying issues.”
On Wednesday, Executive Committee voted in favour of recommending City Council approve the funding for the new healing lodge.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.