'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
Doctors ask Liberal government to reconsider capital gains tax change
The Canadian Medical Association is asking the federal government to reconsider its proposed changes to capital gains taxation, arguing it will affect doctors' retirement savings.
Keeping these exotic pets is 'cruel' and 'dangerous,' Canadian animal advocates say
Canadian pet owners are finding companionship beyond dogs and cats. Tigers, alligators, scorpions and tarantulas are among some of the exotic pets they are keeping in private homes, which pose risks to public safety and animal welfare, advocates say.
Prince William and wife Kate thank public for birthday messages for son Louis
Prince William and his wife Kate thanked the public for their messages which had been sent to mark the sixth birthday of their youngest son Louis on Tuesday.
She was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father. Then life dealt her a blow
Anne Marie Cavner was the closest she'd ever been to meeting her biological father, but then life dealt her a blow. From an unexpected loss to a host of new relationships, a DNA test changed her life, and she doesn't regret a thing.
How quietly promised law changes in the 2024 federal budget could impact your day-to-day life
The 2024 federal budget released last week includes numerous big spending promises that have garnered headlines. But, tucked into the 416-page document are also series of smaller items, such as promising to amend the law regarding infant formula and to force banks to label government rebates, that you may have missed.
Fire engulfs old Edmonton municipal airport hangar
A historical hangar at the former Edmonton municipal airport beside the NAIT main campus was on fire Monday night.
RCMP uncovers plot to sell drones and equipment to Libya
The RCMP says it has uncovered a ploy to sell Chinese drones and military equipment to Libya illegally.
Which foods have the most plastics? You may be surprised
'How much plastic will you have for dinner, sir? And you, ma'am?' While that may seem like a line from a satirical skit on Saturday Night Live, research is showing it's much too close to reality.
'Catch-and-kill' strategy to be a focus as testimony resumes in Trump hush money case
A veteran tabloid publisher was expected to return to the witness stand Tuesday in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial.