The City of Saskatoon, along with both the provincial and federal governments, Indigenous Services Canada, and the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated announced the opening of a new transitional housing unit in Saskatoon on Friday. The unit will give Indigenous women, children and Two-Spirited people fleeing an abusive situation a safe place to live.

The unit consists of two houses, Aggie’s House, which offers short term emergency support for women and families fleeing abuse, and Shirley’s House, which provides a longer term home for those families as they work to reintegrate themselves into the community. There are 20 total suites in the unit, with ten each on both the Aggie and Shirley side. It will be operated by the Central Urban Metis Federation Inc. (CUMFI).

CUMFI President Shirley Isbister says the space will provide the people staying there support from fellow Indigenous people.

“The goal has always been that when Indigenous women come to this home, the first face they’re going to see is a brown face. They’ll know then that they have some support, when we see our own people in that space and they’re the leaders of that space.”

Isbister feels this space is important because she was in the same situation as many of the children that will be staying in the suites.

“For my family, when we were having to flee, it became our homeless period where we slept along the river bank. There was eight of us, plus our mother so there was nothing available at that time. And so, we wanted to make the larger suites available.”

The unit was built in 11 months. Mayor Cynthia Block says she was amazed by how quickly the homes were brought to life.

“When I was part of the ground-breaking 11 months ago, I could not have foreseen that this could actually happen this quickly and I don’t think I could have fully grasped what it means.”

The project was made possible through contributions by multiple funding partners including $7.6 million from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a subsidy from Indigenous Services Canada, $540,000 from Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, $540,000 from the City of Saskatoon along with a permit rebate and a five-year incremental abatement, and $1.4 million fron the National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Incorporated.

Aggie’s and Shirley’s House will officially open for use by Indigenous families on November 16th. It is located at 1075 Kensington Boulevard.