Blessings and gratitude

Work to begin soon on Genesis House transitional housing complex

Sacred smoke wafted over a property in Winkler Monday as supporters gathered to celebrate the impending construction of the Genesis House transitional housing project.

James Nelson, an elder from the Roseau River Anishinabe First Nation, led the assembled guests in an Indigenous land blessing ceremony for the future home of a 25-unit apartment complex that will give the survivors of domestic violence a safe and supportive place to stay while they build a new life for themselves and their children.

It’s a longer-term option than the emergency shelter Genesis House also runs, explained executive director Ang Braun, giving women the help they need to get back on their feet after leaving an abusive partner.

“This is a huge day for us,” she said. “We’ve been talking about it since I started working at the shelter [decades ago].”

Genesis House currently has limited transitional housing in its service area; the need for more, especially given the lack of affordable housing across the region, has only grown in recent years. Last year, just 14 per cent of women who came to stay at the shelter successfully found stable housing when they left it. The rest found themselves staying with friends or family or, in some cases, returning to the violent domestic situation they had fled.

The price tag for the project has risen to $16 million, but Genesis House is well on its way to drumming up the funds needed to make this dream a reality.

“We are probably about $2 million shy of where we need to be,” Braun said, noting they’ve come a very long way with the funding in a short time period. “If you think about last October, we were $14 million shy … so now we’ve closed that gap to $2 million.”

They’ll continue pursuing various grants and corporate sponsorships and will be organizing several fundraisers in the months ahead to get the project across the finish line financially.

“You’ll see us all over the place doing different things and knocking on doors, seeing how people might want to be involved,” Braun said, noting the next big fundraiser is the Ride for Refuge coming up in October.

The plan is for construction at the site to begin in August and for the first families to move in sometime in early 2027.

“This space is for you”

A large crowd came out for the blessing ceremony, showcasing the community’s commitment to this project.

“Looking around this space and seeing all these faces that have supported the project right from the beginning was just awesome,” Braun observed.

Before Nelson could begin the land blessing, he requested Braun share what their hopes are for this facility.

“The blessings that we’re looking for on this land is that the woman that are able to come to our program will feel safe, will have an opportunity to experience joy and happiness and know their value,” she said before presenting Nelson with tobacco to use in his prayers.

“For our people, tobacco is a sacred thing,” the elder said, explaining it acts as a “covenant or a connection” with the Great Spirit. “This is probably the most powerful ceremony among our people, because we’re talking to the Spirit.”

He went on to smoke the tobacco, pray in his native tongue, and share a sacred song.

Also bringing prayers to the event was Karen Tjaden, a Christian minister from the Carman area.

“There are people of many faiths in this community and in Manitoba, and people who might claim no faith tradition at all, but all of us join our prayers, or we call them positive thoughts, and our actions together to recognize the important and life-giving work that’s going to happen on this land,” she said, leading the group in a prayer of gratitude.

Braun said it was very important to take a multi-faith approach to blessing the site.

“The people that will be sharing this space with us, the women that will be living here, are going to come from every background,” she stressed. “So whoever you are, this space is for you.”