REGINA - The much-anticipated opening for the new home of the YWCA Regina has arrived.
On Wednesday, members of the organization were joined by local politicians, partners and others to unveil the new Kikaskihtanaw Centre.
The new centre includes a hub, an integrated youth service, affordable housing, harm reduction programs and more.
Chelsey Lemke, YWCA Regina's capital campaign director and senior director of development, talked about how the idea for the new centre came to be.
“Nearly five years ago, I had a coffee with Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen (YWCA Regina board chair member) across the street from the previous YWCA. She said, and I'll paraphrase, because it was a long conversation, that our community deserved and needed to be served in a better way. The YWCA was going to build a new center for women and families.”
The new building located in the Cathedral neighbourhood was intended to cost $45 million but was later set at $54 million. However, due to inflation rising during the pandemic, the cost of the new building rose by $16 million to $70 million.
Despite the sudden cost increase, the YWCA managed to raise over $68 million, with less than 100 donors contributing to the funding. The donors include sponsors like The Rawlinson Family and Mosaic, with organizations and individuals also pitching in.
Joining Lemke for the opening ceremony was the All Nations Hope Network, a network of Indigenous people, organizations and more.
They shared the strength and resilience of Indigenous women through their songs during the ceremony.
Margaret Piyesis, finance and research director with the All Nations Hope Network, attended the ceremony, speaking about the positive changes the YWCA and the new centre will bring to the city.
"What the YWCA has done here that is going to make a difference in the reconciliation, it's going to make a difference in the institutions in its systems and the agencies that exist here in the City of Regina to change those policies to change the discrimination to change the racism that is that occurs every day for the First [Nation] peoples of this land," said Piyesis.
The YWCA has already made a difference for so many people, including Tanya Bunnie. She was very emotional coming up to speak to share her story of hardship.
A mother of 11 children, she came to Regina hurt, cold and hungry. Bunnie was in and out of homeless shelters for around six months before moving into the Kikinaw Residence, run by the YWCA.
She was grateful to the YWCA for fixing her addiction and homelessness issues, letting her focus more on what mattered most to her, which was Bunnie’s family.
Now, Bunnie teaches bead classes at the YWCA and also helps with the ribbon skirts for the opening ceremony. She hopes the new facility will empower women to build their strength and have the tools needed on their journey.
The YWCA has been in Regina for over a century now. The organization first opened in the city in 1910 on Lorne Street.
They believe the new Kikaskihtanaw Centre will have a positive impact for generations to come.
