Proposed healing lodge for Indigenous women sparks controversy in Scarborough
(The Star Religion)

A proposed 24-bed healing lodge for Indigenous women in conflict with the law has caused a social media uproar among residents in southwest Scarborough who are worried about safety and the overconcentration of services for vulnerable people in their community.But board members for the Toronto-based Thunder Women Healing Lodge Society say the facility proposed for Kingston Rd. between Danforth and Midland Aves. poses no safety threat and is one way to address this month’s damning report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.“People need to understand this is not a jail and these women are not inmates,� said board president Patti Pettigrew, who is Algonquin.The program is for women who have served their sentences and are transitioning back into society or who are on bail and not convicted of any crime, she said.“We have suffered from residential schools, the Sixties scoop, overrepresentation in the foster care and corrections systems,� Pettigrew added. “We need to provide support, rehabilitation and meaningful reintegration of Aboriginal women after incarceration.�Read more:The report on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls calls for sweeping justice reform. Here’s what that would requireThe Big Debate | Does Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people amount to genocide?Area Councillor Gary Crawford’s Facebook page and other social media sites blew up last week with angry comments in advance Wednesday’s public meeting about the project. Many area residents questioned the location, noting its proximity to a public elementary school, social housing, homeless shelters and other community services.Pettigrew said she hopes the meeting will clear up any misconceptions and build a case for support. The six-storey building proposed for the corner of Kingston Rd. and Cliffside Dr. includes commercial space on the ground floor with single rooms and apartments on the upper floors. It will ...