Fundraising kicks off for 24/7 safe space for West End youth
'The biggest thing we heard... is that they want people in this space that will love them.'
The Spence Neighbourhood Association is one step closer to opening its 24/7 safe space for youth in Winnipeg's West End with fundraising kicking off this weekend.
The campaign kicks off Friday with a concert at the West End Cultural Centre. It comes after seven months of consultation with the community to develop a plan for the safe space. Saturday morning, they will be hosting a pancake breakfast.
A number of fundraising events in the community are planned.
"The biggest thing we heard, especially from youth, is that they want people in this space that will love them. And it almost breaks my heart every time I say it," said Jamil Mahmood, executive director of the Spence Neighbourhood Association.
Mahmood and his planning committee have created a plan for how the space will operate and what it will look like. The space has two potential locations, pending negotiations and funding agreements. It will either find its home at the Magnus Eliason Recreation Centre or the West Central Women's Resource Centre.
Youth need that mentorship and support. They need those positive adults in their life...- Jamil Mahmood
"Youth need that mentorship and support. They need those positive adults in their life and they need those people that will invest in helping them get to the point that they want to be in their life," Mahmood told CBC's Information Radio.
"We have all of our ducks in a row. We just need to find the money to make it happen now."
The target for the fundraising campaign is $300,000 annually to run the space 24/7 including holidays, but ideally it would be $500,000 Mahmood said.
"The dream is about providing the 24-hour safe space, giving those most vulnerable on the street an option of a safe space to go at night. So for us it's more about creating the environment than the furniture or whatever is in the building," he said Friday.