Rossbrook House celebrates 50 years of ‘unconditional love’ for youth

Fifty years ago, three members of the order of the Roman Catholic Sisters of the Holy names of Jesus and Mary decided no child in Winnipeg’s inner city should ever have to be alone.

The three women were Sisters Geraldine MacNamara, Marylyn Gibney, and Lesley Sacouman. Together, they founded Rossbrook House, a drop-in centre for youth who had nowhere else to go.

On Tuesday, 50 years to the day Rossbrook House opened in 1976, the organization held a celebration to mark the work of the three founders and the many staff and volunteers who followed in their footsteps.

Sister Lesley Sacouman told the gathering about the early days of Rossbrook House.

“We started out with nothing, but we had each other,” she said. “We were one story, one song.”

Of “Sister Mac,” the driving force behind Rossbrook House, Sacouman said she saw the “innate goodness” in all the youth she met. But she also “saw their pain … she loved them with all her strength, heart and mind.”

MacNamara knew the names of all the youth who came to the drop-in, as well as their birthdays, Sacouman added.

“They energized her,” she said. “They made her a better person.”

At the same time, MacNamara would never hesitate to confront them if she felt they were going down a wrong path, Sacouman said.

The youth listened to the nun because “they knew she loved them and would never give up on any of them,” she said.

Located in a former church at the corner of Ross Avenue and Sherbrook St., Rossbrook House has served thousands of young people over the past 50 years through its drop-in centre — which is open every day — along with off-campus school programs, a young mother program, sports and recreational activities, Indigenous cultural activities, leadership activities, and a music program.

If MacNamara, who died in 1984, could be at the celebration, she would say: “do everything in your power to make sure no children are left alone,” Sacouman added.

For executive director Patty Mainville, the celebration was an opportunity to praise and thank those who helped pave the way to today.

That included the three sisters, whom Mainville called surrogate parents to many. Mainville, herself, visited Rossbrook House as a young person in 1982.

“They gave us unconditional love and inspired me to do the same,” she said. “The sisters are in our heart and blood. We want to celebrate that.”

In his remarks, former executive director Phil Chiapetta said the three sisters were role models for the organization.

“The started something revolutionary in the neighbourhood,” he said. “They formed relationships and built up trust by asking the youth what they needed at a time when everyone else was telling them what they needed.”

That approach made Rossbrook House into what it is today, Chiapetta said. “We still listen and journey with them in solidarity … what a beautiful place they made for the kids.”

The organization will also mark its 50th anniversary with a No Child Alone dinner on April 30.

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