Winnipeg safe space for women, gender-diverse people gets $600K boost
Funding will help change lives and, even more critically, save lives, says executive director
Winnipeg's only 24/7 safe haven for women and gender-diverse people who identify as female announced a $600,000 donation on Thursday.
The money from the TD Bank Group — $200,000 annually for three years — will go toward the Indigenous-led centre's supports to help the people it serves build more stable and independent lives.
Velma's House, run by the Ka Ni Kanichihk Indigenous social services organization, provides culturally appropriate and trauma-informed services along with basic needs, assistance in finding permanent housing, financial guidance, employment counselling, skills training and help navigating the health-care system
People who turn to Velma's House face barriers most of us can't fathom, Ka Ni Kanichihk executive director Dodie Jordaan said at a news conference on Thursday.
The funding support will change lives and, even more critically, save lives, Jordan said.
When Velma's House first opened in April 2021, there was an expectation that it would get close to 850 visits within the first year, but there were more than 11,000, Jordaan told CBC News last month.
It quickly outgrew is original location on Sherbrook Street in the West End.
Ka Ni Kanichihk received nearly $7 million in funding from the federal government in October 2022 to expand Velma's House, allowing the service to move to a bigger location and provide overnight access.
The facility, now at Bannatyne Avenue and Kate Street in the city's West Alexander area, is open to anyone 18 or older who identifies as a woman or a gender-diverse person.