Major Investment Announced to Fund Employment & Training Program in New Center for Women & Families in Regina, SK
MOSAIC COMMITS $1 MILLION TO FUND NEW PROGRAM IN YWCA REGINA’S CENTER FOR WOMEN & FAMILIES
As the community gathered for the Mosaic sponsored 2022 Grey Cup Festival in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, Mosaic’s CEO and President, Joc O’Rourke shared the company’s plans to invest in the new Centre’s Employment and Training Program, designed to create equitable opportunities for the women and families the YWCA Regina serves.
The 85,000 sq ft YWCA Regina Centre for Women and Families building will operate with a trauma informed approach and wrap-around services that provide crisis and preventative supports through the work of YWCA Regina and partnerships with other community serving organizations and visiting practitioners.
These supports will address the barriers that keep vulnerable women and children in homelessness and violent situations. The building will also feature community multi-purpose spaces, access to drop-in supports and essential needs, communal kitchens, and indoor and outdoor play areas. The Centre will include a healing and ceremony lodge stewarded by Indigenous community partners to provide access to cultural connection and Indigenous ways of knowing.
“The Centre for Women and Families is about preventing crisis before it happens, and investing in education and skill building for those facing inequities and barriers in our community is integral to this,” says YWCA CEO Melissa Coomber-Bendtsen, “We are incredibly grateful to The Mosaic Company for stepping up and working to build equity and access in our province.”
The project will cost $63 million to build. In June of 2022, YWCA Regina announced a $33.9 million contribution from the Government of Canada through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), a $1 million investment from the Government of Saskatchewan through the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, and a $2 million contribution through gift of land from the City of Regina. Including Mosaic’s commitment, over $13 million has been raised through the Community Campaign with $7 million more to go.
“The YWCA’s New Centre for Women and Families will be a community hub with enormous impact,” said Mosaic’s President & CEO, Joc O’Rourke. “Mosaic is honored to be a positive force for change in Regina by partnering with the YWCA on this transformational project.”
Construction on the Centre started in October 2022 and the building is set for completion in the fall of 2024.