Demolition begins on YWCA’s Meredith Place

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This article was published 16/11/2023 (832 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

YWCA Westman is ready to be out with the old and in with the new. The organization (previously known as YWCA Brandon) has rebranded and started the demolition of Meredith Place, which had its start as a safe haven for domestically abused women in Brandon.

The name change, along with a new logo and website, is intended to more “proactively serve and support clients and individuals from around the region,” said Lois Ruston, executive director of YWCA Westman. The new website, with an “updated look and feel,” can be found at www.ywcawestman.ca.

Meredith Place, located at 148 11th St., dates back to 1917. The aging building is expected to be completely gone by the end of December. The YWCA owns the land Meredith Place sits on, and Ruston said the next step once demolition is complete is to start planning for a new building, with the aim to house an expanded domestic violence shelter and affordable housing. She said they will need to get a contractor to draw up a plan and then the YWCA will investigate funding options.

“Our goal is to have a plan in place … that’s ready to launch and (finding out) what those funding pools are prepared to support. That’s why we’re trying to be proactive and work with different agencies and other YWCAs to find out how they have been funded and what different pots of money will be able to fund it,” Ruston said.

On the wish list for a new building, Ruston said, are more beds for the domestic violence shelter. The group’s current shelter has 24 beds — a number Ruston says doesn’t “come close” to meeting the need.

The YWCA serves a large area stretching across southwestern Manitoba to the Saskatchewan and U.S. borders. Ruston said the area they serve has a population of about 180,000 people. It is the only domestic crisis shelter in western Manitoba.

Plans for the new building also include a housing component for people transitioning out of the shelter.

“Because of our housing crisis, the families and people who require bigger units have a really hard time finding safe, attainable, affordable housing. We would look to in our new building incorporate some space for those individuals. And for those clients who maybe just need some more support before they’re able to kind of launch right back into a new life, following domestic violence. We would look at creating a space that can include both of those needs as well as programming and wraparound supports, like counseling services,” Ruston said.

Ruston said Meredith Place served as transitional housing for thousands of women during its time as a domestic violence shelter. The YWCA women’s shelter, however, has been operating in a separate location for the last 40 years. Meredith Place was repurposed as interim housing for incarcerated people leaving jail until 2022, when the YWCA Westman board ended its contract with Corrections Canada. Ruston said the building was well maintained for a year until a pipe burst in early 2023 and the board found out Meredith Place could no longer be feasible to maintain.

“There was a major water pipe, on the third floor, causing significant damage throughout the building — profound damage throughout the building. We had a physical assessment done of the building and determined that it was really beyond the means of our organization to reclaim it and to turn it into a building that we had the ability to fund and operate,” Ruston said.

Tyndall stone from Meredith Place has been saved and will be incorporated into the new building. No timeline has been given for construction.

The YWCA Westman crisis line — open 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year — is 1-877-977-0007, and text support is at 1-204-400-4007.

» khenderson@brandonsun.com