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Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre: An enduring legacy falls on hard times
Patrick Keller
Lakeside Leader
When the Slave Lake Native Friendship Centre began in 1972, it was following the lead of the first centres in Winnipeg and Vancouver that dated back to 1958. In 1972, there were less than 30 of the centres across Canada. Now, there are 117. It has truly been a nationwide movement.
By 1974, the Slave Lake group had established itself sufficiently that it met the requirements set by the crown to obtain core funding.
A testament to the dedication of those founding members can be seen in the group’s rapid advancement. Within five years of its inception, the group moved from the basement of an old medical clinic into Phase I construction of the current facility. Within two years of that milestone, the 4,400 square foot building would be adjoined with an additional 10,800 sq. ft, making for a total of 15,200 square feet. Not bad for a volunteer crew and a few years time.
According to its original mission statement, the centre “sought to bridge the gap between the Native and non-Native cultures.” Friendship Centres have consistently identified two major roles in their communities: Support for the cultural integrity of urban native people, and provision of social services to meet the needs of transient and resident populations of urban native people.
Some of the efforts to bridge that gap between native and non-native people were written directly into the facility’s expansion plans.
In 1981, Slave Lake was a very different place. There were no gyms, and only a few social services.
The ambitious group sought, as part of their funding plan, commercial kitchen space. They also factored in fitness equipment, racquetball courts, a sauna and Jacuzzi. Now that racquetball is about as popular as bolo-bat, they’re struggling to make use of the two giant rooms. But, the group is nothing if not resourceful.
They’ve endeavored to allow outside groups to use the kitchen for catering, and made the facilities available for all manner of public and private gatherings, from the Friday institution of soup and bannock, to Wednesday’s Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon gathering (which, by the way, has Wednesday’s booked forever, so don’t ask.)
The facility has been used for bingo, political rallies, parties, weddings and funerals. It currently houses no less than 10 different community support services, including a food bank, the ParentLink drop-in centre, a thrift shop, a handicraft/gift shop, an elders room, the UMAYC Youth Group, Santa’s Anonymous and the ever-important resource referral services.
Where’s the beef?
You would think that with all those good tidings, folks would be coming out of the woodwork to help, either by volunteering time or cash.
Surely, farsighted government bodies recognize their good work and keep the power bills paid every year?
Evidently not. The ‘core funding’ hasn’t kept up with inflation or even changed since the 80’s.
It has become a struggle to maintain the centre, especially while sticking to their guns about just what it is they stand for.
When The Leader visited the centre, it had been a meeting months in the making. Aside from being typically overworked, the core group of workers wanted to ensure they had their message well prepared.
We toured the facility with the Executive Director Lucille Cook, President Butch L’Hirondelle and Bookkeeper Gwen Gliege.
The group sounded deflated about their lot these days and the proceedings had a bit of a funereal feel.
It turns out they are having trouble keeping up the good fight In Slave Lake they face stiff ‘competition’ from other service providers.
Call them old-fashioned, but they either give their clothes away, or accept donations from those who can afford it. It’s not a popular business model these days, but then the centre is not a business.
Unlike the ‘competition’, they aren’t looking for a return on their donations, but rather a way to keep on keeping on.
The food bank runs the same way. Folks who need it get it. Period. About 130 people depend on their good graces every month, and the grocery bill for the centre rings in around $4000 a month.
Then there is the year-round planning for Santa’s Anonymous, which may be proving so anonymous, it could very well disappear.
The centre services nearly 250 families during the holidays, providing turkeys, all the fixin’s, and even toys to the less fortunate. It’s a trend that might be on the way out.
President Butch L’Hirondelle has been with the centre for twenty-plus years, so he knows of what he speaks. When he says that they have no plans to change the way they do business, he says it with a hint of sadness.
“We serve a large percentage of homes in the back lakes area, and those families who feel the pinch year round may go without this coming Christmas too. We need donations,” said L’Hirondelle. “At this rate, the Christmas hampers are going to be pretty slim. We may not even be able to serve all of the back lakes.”
In winter months, the facilities gas bill alone can top out at $3000 a month.
Where does the money come from?
Director Lucille Cook knits blankets at home in the evenings, to sell in the handicraft store. Bookkeeper Gwen Gliege sells raffle tickets in her off hours. They all put in thousands of hours above their paid work.
Essentially, above the core funding, all monies come from Friday’s soup and bannock lunch.
Fair-weather friends?
The centre may have shot themselves in the foot with this whole “friendship” concept. Is theirs an idea whose time has come and gone?
Slave Lake has a lot of well-meaning groups of people, and most of them have availed themselves of the centres offerings at some point. Unfortunately, one hand hasn’t necessarily washed the other.
In fact, says Lucille Cook, the centre has gotten the kiss-off for even suggesting that some users cough up a bit of dough.
“We don’t want to sound ungrateful to those who have helped, but it’s getting to the point where we will have to turn people down,” she says.
They will not recant on the option of food for the hungry or clothes for the needy, but people hoping to host a wedding there might find themselves at the bargaining table.
It seems that the Slave Lake Friendship Centre is more than just a part of the community; it’s a lifeline.
But, they do need your help and they arent ashamed to ask for it. They hope you feel the same way.
To help, contact the centre at 780-849-3035
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