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BB NEWS INDIGENOUS- LED TRANSITIONAL HOUSING OPENS IN WATERLOO BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca “Shki-maajtaawin E- nmok," an Ojibwe saying meaning "path to new be- now beckons at 34 Bridgeport Rd. E in Wa- terloo. The lettering is located on the front door of a com- mon room that's part of a w, Indigenous-led tran- sitional housing project — the first of its kind in Wa- terloo Region — where peo- ple will learn life skills be- fore moving on tomore per- ea fridge and stove that we got donated 're going to do cooking classes down here and teach people how to live on a budget,” said Lee Ann Hundt, executive director of the K-W Urban Native igwam. Project (KWUNWP), who said the space furnished with do- “a LEE ANN HUNDT nated and used items will accommodate things like social nights, drumming sessions and counselling. “We're hoping to do AA out of here," Hundt said. “We're hoping to do a lot cultural and healing stuff." The project, located in ecm was s formerly Recep- atransitional housing site efor refugees — A total of 14 jobs have been created to help with rat: ling to a recent press release announcing the opening, on-site staff will support up to 28 indi- viduals — singles, couple and potentially small fami- lies in emergency — with 24-hour-a-day care, seven days a week. "We have a family where there's a parent coming in with three children. Hope- fully that's not for a much longer than a few weeks, but they're in that transi- in stage where they liter- have nowhere else to bos y Hundt said. Most tenants will be sin- gle people who are current- ly living rough in the funding from the Region | of Waterloo and what's de- scribed as a creative real estate partnership with ilding's owner, HIP De. velopments. @e Hear CANADA TURN UP LIFE, WATERLOO. Better hearing is here at your new HearCANADA centre, now open at Unit 3, 94 Bridgeport Road East. If hearing loss has lowered your life's enjoyment, it's time to turn it up! * Get a free hearing assessment from a certified professional* * Enjoy same-day fittingst ¢ Leave with a hearing solution that suits your lifestyle Want to test drive the latest hearing tech for free? Call 1-866-623-3749 or pre-book online at HearCANADA.com r those over 50 broader The KWUWP, which was established in 1987, helps provide affordable geared-to-income housing for Indigenous people and their families that are in low- or moder- ate-income situations. "This (transitional housing) is new to us," said Hundt. "We're trying to do things in a different way. We're gearing up on how we assess people, and where they're at is going to be individual for everyone. Creating balance around the medicine wheel is how we're going to determine the supports they're going to need while they're here." Each of apartment units have four bedrooms and named after The Gifts of ‘the Seven Grandfathers, an Indigenous teaching. Hundt said Indigenous- led housing is needed be- cause of the biases, racism and misunderstanding that still exists in society. “Trauma and mental health to me are not the our folks come through with a lot of different stuff * when it comes to residen- tial schools and the ‘60s Scoop, and they come from places where the conven- tional, western way of do- ing things isn't what's go- ing to help them and they're not having their voice heard. So, we're doing things in a way that's going to be beneficial for them. ming fact that they're col in here, they're willing’ to give ita try, that's success to me," Hundt add- ed. “We're not forcing any- body here to do treatment, to do this, do that. What we're doing is trying to make sure that they have the ability to survive. "We're building a 30-unit apartment in Cambridge right now, and this is the perfect way to kind of give them the life skills they're going to need, because some of them been living rough for 10 years.” As of Monday, Aug. 14, seven people had moved in- fo the building, with more ‘pected rrive in the days and weeks ahead. Humat sad ame ne ii ‘Aepsiny, | efo|uosya couerENA | 6 rhe a ‘raneitional a Tamed 6 sites in the region, and * some individuals living on the streets who have been 8 promised spots are cur- 8 rently in the process of be- ing located. "This i is only temporary for us," she said. "We looking to finda place ‘with land because we rely very heavily on land-based sup- ports, and so that's going to bea big thing that we're re- ally trying to focus on. We will be using vehicles to get ing sites from here. The KWUNWP held an open house at the site earli- er this month. Anyone with questions or concerns can reach out to Chelsey at 1pr@gmail.com or call bie 5034 3462. i 3 3 3 5 is