When the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC) identified the need for an Indigenous-focused warming centre in the city, the response was: How do we make this possible?

In a matter of just three weeks, the AFCC transformed the space previously used for Covid-19 mass vaccination of Indigenous people within Calgary, into a first-of-its-kind warming space—and come spring and summer, a cooling space—and community center that opened on Feb. 12.

Shane Gauthier, CEO of the AFCC, said that a team effort between the staff of the AFCC and the Calgary Homeless Foundation made the transformation possible.

“I always come from a place of yes,” he said.

“So, if we need an elders drop-in center, let’s open the first-of-its-kind. If we need an affordable housing for Indigenous seniors, let’s do it. And we built it… we built a $6 million affordable housing building, and then the need was here.”

He said the warming centre was built to meet the needs of Indigenous Calgarians who wanted a space that was culturally sensitive and safe.

“Calgary’s vulnerable people, and especially Indigenous peoples, need a safe place to smudge, talk to elders, and a place to build community and to gather. But in the spirit of reconciliation, this place is for Indigenous but also is open for non-Indigenous folks to also enjoy our programs and services,” Gauthier said.

“Every Wednesday we’ll have elders here doing teachings. We want a place where folks can come for a coffee or tea and smudge, talk to elders, talk to each other, and that is a place with dignity.”

Less than a quarter of one percent of all warming spaces are Indigenous first focused said AFCC

Across the city, there are over 450 different warming spaces located at shelters, City of Calgary facility, and local non-profit and faith-based locations, but the new location at 4628 – 16 Avenue NW is the only one designed specifically for Indigenous individuals, AFCC said.

The warming centre will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week, and will have between two and three staff members present at all times to assist an expected 10 to 15 people each day.

Gauthier said that the agility to provide the space in the short time frame came about as a result of having the space already available for us, but also being manageable in size.

“If you are trying to open something very, large and comprehensive, that takes more planning, more dollars, more resources. But if you’re looking to do something like this, that’s manageable,” he said.

Elder Jackie Bromley, who provided a blessing to open the centre on Monday, said that many of the homeless Calgarians who identify as Indigenous have become disconnected from their culture and from each other.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of people that are homeless, they like to sit someplace and have a gathering where they can have tea and coffee and hear what the elder has to say,” she said.

“One person that I talked to… I asked him what is your last name? And he gave me his last name and I said, ‘Shot Both Sides, Is that your last name?’ He said yes and I started asking him questions about, who was his grandfather? He had no clue until I started to ask him who his father was, and when he brought up that name, his grandfather was our head Chief from way back and the expression that he showed, he was so proud.”

Faith is underestimated as a way for people to heal

Bromley said that reconnecting to culture, being able to speak their own languages, and being able to take part in cultural and faith-appropriate practices were ways of providing healing to homeless Calgarians facing trauma.

“I’m very honoured to say this is the right place, this is we need a place for our indigenous people to gather,” she said.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek said that the model that the AFCC was using represented a shift in thinking about how to provide services for homeless Calgarians.

“What we are learning more and more by engaging with people who have lived experience with being unhoused is the importance of human connection. It’s not just the physicality of a warming center, it is the warmth that you receive from community that’s incredibly important, too,” she said.

“The City of Calgary is very interested in making sure that we’re taking care of people who are in positions of crisis, people who are incredibly vulnerable at a particular moment in time, and I think more spaces where people understand that we’re here to care for them is going to be the way forward.”

She said that there was a need to be more cognizant of both the cultural and faith-based needs of people when providing services in the city, and that the AFCC represented that way forward.

“Not only is it a warming center, but you’ve now got cultural components that are going to help individuals be a complete person. You can sit with your faith, you know that your culture is something that other people here understand, and I think that’s a critical way forward,” Mayor Gondek said.

“I don’t think we talk about faith enough, and it is really faith that’s going to get us through.”