Winnipeg aboriginal group launches lakeside retreat centre

A Winnipeg aboriginal group is opening a new centre to help disadvantaged young people get away from the pressures of the street and relax in cottage country.

The Windy Hill Community WellnessandLearning Centre opens this week at Hillside Beach, on Lake Winnipeg 100 kilometres north of the provincial capital.

The 36-bed lodge, run by the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, will provide a break for inner-city young people from the drugs, violence and poverty that make it difficult for them to live healthy lives, officials said.

"Something will happen to their spirits," said Ma Mawi spokeswoman Sharon Redsky. "Something will change inside of them and it will be a beginning for them."

Redsky has already taken youth out to the site and said she can see the difference it has made.

"Even after a day of being out there, you know, you can just tell they didn't want to go home, and they just didn't have that street kind of attitude," she said.

"They felt really good being there, and it was really good to be with them because they could just be themselves."

The centre will also host cultural activities on the 30-hectare site and offer courses and counselling in personal and professional development, ranging from single-day workshops to weeklong retreats.

Young people have been involved in every aspect of the centre, from choosing the site to planning workshops, Redsky said.

Funded by three levels of government, Ma Mawi will share the facility with other helping agencies in Winnipeg for meetings, conferences, staff retreats and other workshops.