Province gives $3.5M for ‘safe space’

Indigenous women at risk of violence, homelessness and exploitation will soon have a new place to turn, as the province pledged to open a 24/7 safe space to provide temporary emergency shelter and resources.

The province committed a $3.5-million capital investment toward the facility, known as Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag Lodge, which is expected to open next summer at 510 Selkirk Ave., Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said.

“We are creating a space that will literally save lives,” Fontaine told reporters while announcing the investment Thursday. “Indigenous women can walk through the doors and immediately find safety, dignity and support.”

Women will be able to access the facility by referral and remain for up to 48 hours at the time. They will have access to food, shelter, counselling, cultural supports and other resources. The province has tapped Ikwe Widdjiitiwin, an Indigenous women’s shelter for victims of gender-based violence, to lead the space. An undetermined amount of ongoing funding will be provided.

“Let this space be a light in the darkness, let it be a place where women come to grow, to rest, to heal and to survive,” Ikwe Widdjiitiwin executive director Kim Fontaine said.

Nahanni Fontaine said Winnipeg has needed such a facility for decades. While the lodge will not operate as a traditional women’s shelter, it will expand system capacity and reduce barriers for people in need of immediate, trauma-informed care.

It will feature eight private bedrooms, a communal kitchen and dining area, a dedicated crisis response line and a mobile service to transport people to the facility.

“This lodge will serve as a bridge, a soft hand-off helping women to connect to (a) broader web of supports,” Nahanni Fontaine said. “It is about building trust, walking alongside women and ensuring they are supported every step of the way in their healing.”

The minister described the facility as the “cornerstone” of Mino’Ayaawag Ikwewag — a $20-million provincial strategy to support Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit people.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca