‘We wanted it to be a safe haven’: Winnipeg youth centre removes cross from building | CBC News
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A cross that hung on the front of an inner-city youth drop-in centre for decades has been removed as a step toward inclusively and reconciliation.
The decision has been years in the making, said Patty Mainville, executive director of Rossbrook House.
“Our demographics have changed over the last 47 years,” Mainville said Tuesday on CBC’s Information Radio. “We wanted it to be a safe haven — to remain a safe haven — and to be very inclusive of those families, so that those children know that they have a safe place to go.”
Rossbrook House is located in a former United Church at the corner of Ross Avenue and Sherbrook Street in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood.
More than 1,000 children and youth aged six to 24 use the centre each year, according to its website. The centre’s offerings include alternative school programs, sports and music programming, a young mom’s group and Indigenous cultural activities.
The 24-hour drop-in sees up to 80 young people use its services daily.
Mainville said more youth who are new to Canada have been visiting the centre, many of whom might not follow Christian beliefs.
The cross, which hung right above the building’s front door, could deter youth from going in, she said.
“What we wanted to do was to make it more inclusive and inviting for our children and our community,” said Mainville.
But Mainville also wanted the cross removed and disposed of in a respectful way — and in a way that honours Sister Geraldine MacNamara, who established the centre in 1976.
“I wanted to ensure that we honour and respect Sister Gerry MacNamara’s vision that no child who does not want to be alone should ever have to be,” Mainville said.
“Respecting that history is paramount for us.”
Incoming executive director Patty Mainville talks about the significance of Thursday’s powwow at Rossbrook House, a 24-hour youth drop-in centre in Winnipeg’s Centennial neighbourhood which operates three alternative school programs.
The centre consulted with Sisters who had been involved with Rossbrook House since it opened, elders, knowledge keepers and youth to take the cross down.
It was a process that Mainville said taught her a lot about reconciliation.
“What we found is that our ceremony and our beliefs are more similar than we are different,” she said.
“Taking the time to listen and to learn and to hear everybody else’s vision and history and to look at the similarities and not at the differences was beneficial in our learning.”
But the front of the building won’t stay empty, Mainville said.
Youth at the centre will work with an artist to create a tile art installation above the front door. A piece of the cross will be used in the project.
It’s set to be installed next spring, said Mainville.
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