“This is a huge day for us. We've been working on this for five years, and it started off as such a tiny — I'm not sure if a ‘dream’ is even the right word — almost like a joke, like, could we pull this off?”
This is how Ang Braun, executive director of Genesis House, reacted to the latest step that the organization has taken toward making its transitional housing a reality.
On July 28th, community members and dignitaries gathered to participate in a ceremony that included a blessing for the land on which the housing facility will stand within the next few years.
Support from friends
For Braun, the event was more than another update in the transitional housing journey.
She said that although the list of invitees was limited due to the desire to keep the housing’s location confidential, those who came to show their support were a testament to the community’s investment in the project and the need for it.
“Looking around this space and seeing all these faces that have supported the project right from the beginning was just awesome,” she said.
‘Abuse does not differentiate’
The land blessing featured Elder James Nelson from Roseau River First Nation and Pastor Karen Tjaden from Carman.
Braun said that the multidenominational blessing parallels the people who will use the transitional housing.
“Abuse does not differentiate. It's in absolutely every culture, every economic group, it's everywhere,” she said. “The women who will be living with us here are going to come from every background, and so we really want people to know that this space is for them. Whoever you are, this space is for you.”
What will the transitional housing look like?
The blessing ceremony also included some drawings of the plans for the building, which Braun said have been changing and developing according to cost and what the Genesis House envisions for those who will stay in transitional housing.
Braun said that the building will be a 25-unit, second-stage facility with 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments. Plans include a common space for programming, a commercial kitchen, a playroom for children, and a courtyard.
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The hope for the courtyard is to include some features inspired by Indigenous cultures, including a circular “healing space of a cedar gazebo” and a garden with traditional healing plants.
Braun said that Genesis House is about 2 million dollars away from completing the funding for the transitional housing facility. As of last October, the number was 14 million.
“We've closed that gap, and so we have until January 2027 when we expect to be moving folks in [to raise the rest],” she said.
The next major fundraiser for Genesis House is its annual Ride for Refuge in October.
With files from Jayme Giesbrecht
