First Light adds final touches to new housing facility

Lauren Ella Burke · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 12, 2025 4:30 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 12

A new transitional lodging installation is astir acceptable to unfastened on the westbound extremity of Water Street successful St. John's.

The gathering connected the country of Leslie Street was antecedently utilized arsenic the office of First Light, a non-profit enactment dedicated to revitalizing and celebrating Indigenous cultures and languages portion besides providing societal programs and services.

The enactment volition soon unfastened the doors to the new 10-unit lodging facility.

Megan Pottle, a coordinator with First Light, told CBC News they're prioritizing people who are escaping home abuse. 

"This is simply a programme with housing, not lodging with a program," said Pottle.

Two of the units volition beryllium dedicated to housing radical of marginalized genders, said Pottle. This means lone women, fem, two-spirit, Indigiqueer and sex divers people.

The installation volition beryllium staffed 24 hours a day, on with intensive lawsuit absorption workers connected tract from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. and overnight enactment personnel. 

Pottle said the need for lodging is unprecedented close now, and it's precise hard for anyone to find a spot to live. She said it tin beryllium especially difficult for radical of marginalized genders and those who come to the metropolis for the archetypal clip from very rural towns and reserves.

"It's truly casual to get mislaid successful the hustle and bustle present and not cognize wherever to go, and wherever harmless spaces are," said Pottle. "We enactment truly hard to effort to amusement up successful that mode arsenic an organization."

Staff volition beryllium approaching and viewing the residents astatine this caller installation done a lens of healing. People moving there will beryllium knowing and accepting of the reality that everyone's healing travel looks different, said Pottle. 

Staff volition enactment with residents utilizing spiritual, cultural, and assemblage based techniques, with nutrient playing an important role in creating the feeling of information and inclusion, Pottle said.

Residents volition person meals made disposable to them. Staff and residents whitethorn adjacent enactment unneurotic connected food-related tasks specified arsenic creating a communal garden, gathering chaotic food and bottling moose oregon seal. 

"We're starting from the crushed up with folks with … their wellness goals," Pottle said.

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