Key takeaways:
- The yearly spirit walk had a climb up Mount Royal Park.
- On Saturday, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal had its eighth yearly spirit walk in Mount Royal Park.
The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal had its annual spirit walk on Saturday, exceeding its fundraising plan of $60,000 before the walk ended.
The eighth edition of the annual spirit walk started at the gazebo in Montreal’s Mount Royal Park before the group began their hike up the mountain.
The funds will go toward a transitional accommodation project and a pediatric social clinic set to open in February, stated Nakuset, the shelter’s executive director.
“When there’s a scream for help, it’s always the community of Montreal that shows up first,” Nakuset stated just before the walk up the mountain started.
The Miyoskamin House will provide 23 units for Indigenous women and their kids. The Saralikitaaq Social Pediatric Centre will be in the same structure and provide families key to health and social services.
It will be found in Little Burgundy at an old bath house by Oscar Peterson Park.
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The new space will also help families with kids in youth protection, Nakuset said.
“We require a family lawyer because many kids get into youth protection, and it’s tough to get them out,” she stated.
“A lot of times when a child is taken to youth safety, it can take up to 10 to 13 years — if you’re blessed — to get them back.”
The rest of the project’s funding comes from the city of Montreal and the province.
The funds raised through their annual spirit walk each spring usually go toward a healing pullback for women, but luckily the center was able to ensure that funding through other norms, Nakuset said.
Source – cbc.ca
