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Velma’s Garden


By Cathy Menard
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Velma’s House at 154 Sherbrook St. House is a place of safety, comfort and connection to serve women aged 18+, and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community who identify as female. Led by Ka Ni Kanichihk in collaboration with the 24/7 Safe Space Planning Committee, Velma’s House provides:

  • Access to traditional medicines, elders, ceremony, and cultural ways of healing
  • Hot meals, to-go lunches, water, tea, coffee
  • A safe place to rest, warm up or cool down
  • Hygiene and harm reduction supplies
  • Laundry and shower facilities
  • Emergency clothing
  • Extensive support with employment, housing, and navigating systems such EIA and CFS

We’re excited to share with you that Velma’s House now has a beautiful new volunteer and participant-led garden. Velma’s Garden is a place where participants can spend time outdoors and relax among the plants, flowers and vegetables. Fresh veggies from the garden are used in-house to provide healthy meals and wellness for our community members.

Hours

Velma’s House can be accessed on a drop-in basis. There is no need to book an appointment or call ahead.  Hours of operation are Monday to Friday: 9am – 8:00pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 1pm – 8pm. These hours will be extending over the next few months and we hope to increase the hours of operation to 24/7 by Fall 2021.  Check for updates on Ka Ni Kanichihk’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kanikanichihk/