Newo Yotina Friendship Centre has new address
Relocation to the Heritage neighbourhood will be a physical and symbolic move for the Newo Yotina Friendship Centre.
“We’re very excited,” board president Tannen Acoose said Friday at the Heritage Community Association office, across the street from the NYFC’s new digs — currently the Core Medicenter at 1635 11th Ave. “Today is about ... repositioning ourselves into a better scenario where we can increase programming, increase foot traffic and increase accessibility.”
The organization has experienced “tumultuous times” this year, said Acoose, and was “on the brink of folding.”
New executive director Michael Parker, formerly of the North Central Community Association, has been able to turn that around since joining the NYFC six months ago.
“His first day on the job was actually potentially his last day on the job, just based on what we were stepping into,” Acoose said, as missteps by previous management threatened the organization’s funding. “It’s been a challenge, but an exciting one,” said Parker.
Organizing a backlog of paperwork hasn’t been the friendship centre’s only challenge, though.
Its location since 2014, above the Food Bank on Winnipeg Street, has presented difficulties in terms of accessibility for clients.
In an area with little foot traffic, the centre’s attendance also suffered for its second-floor location, which made it difficult for clients with disabilities.
“My biggest complaint about the friendship centre before I started, and many others, was the location,” said Parker. “This is not just a physical change in location; this is a signal of a new era for the friendship centre in Regina.”
Lately the NYFC sees about a dozen clients per day, something Acoose believes is partly due to the weather.
“We want to connect, and we feel like there’s been a bit of a disconnect,” said Acoose.
The new building is wheelchair accessible on a main floor, and in a neighbourhood nearer to downtown and North Central.
Its new community in Heritage, just east of downtown, has 1,070 First Nations and Metis residents, said Heritage Community Association executive director Shayna Stock.
Many of the friendship centre’s current clientele live in Heritage, said Acoose.
The NYFC takes possession of the property in May.
Incorporated in 2010, the NYFC offers youth, employment and cultural programming.
It has daytime drop-in hours with access to a computer lab, phone and other office tools, plus showers, pool and ping-pong tables, and more.
Its Resolution Health Support staff work with residential school survivors, providing mental health and emotional support.