A quick read of the panel on the left side of the index page at www.pgfnc.com informs readers of the essentials, and these include: community-wide employment services, catering and space rentals, and a wide number of social developments like camps and events like pow-wow and various public awareness programs. Furthermore the operations of the centre include a multiplicity of social events and public services.
In fact the PGNFC runs a monthly program and Bobbie Koll's newsletter for September '07 informs the local area to join in the Community Night every second and fourth Tuesday at the PGNFC building on 3rd avenue at the 1600 block for a bunch of cool activities including computer use, then there is more on the page, (among other things) like a pain control dental clinic, a regalia building night each Weds, and an Elder's luncheon every third Weds. of the month. You cannot miss it because it is a big building befitting the large tasks facing these community developers.
The current situation in the city, which is creating major interest in the city and is directly related to the PGNFC, happens to be a project called Friendship Lodge. Connaught is a neighbourhood beside downtown, sitting on a high bluff above the downtown core, and Connaught is firmly established as a middle class neighbourhood in a middle class oriented city. The problem for Connaught is the downtown of Prince George has fallen into a state of disrepair, partly due to poverty, worsened by a rash of miscreant drug-related behaviour, and sewn further and deeper into a state of general social discord in the manner of many downtowns in Canada.
It so happens that over the course of time the inner cores of some cities have not regenerated quickly enough to surpass the social problems of poverty and drug epidemics that also result in general mayhem and sex trade. Prince George may be an excellent example of one of the problems of urbanization, and it so happens that the PGNFC is one of the principle agencies besides the illustrious RCMP put in place to deal with it.
Indeed the PGNFC is a proactive organization in dealing with the social milieu of downtown Prince George, for it was PGNFC's proposal that met acceptance with the province to fund a building project called the Friendship Lodge. Barb said the centre has been leading the way forward since 2004 to get this particular mental health facility built and running for a population that exists on street level because they are disabled or struggling with mental illness.
The facility proposal by PGNFC and the province will face Prince George city council in Oct. '07 for the last time, having passed first and second readings by the city council. So here in the preceding month of September the pressure is now rising from the surrounding community expressing predictable concerns about a population of mentally ill people put into a building in the downtown. How many people? Thirty units will hold up to 60 people in a facility functioning under the auspices of "The Prince George Native Friendship Centre, Northern Health & BC Housing."
As of the past weekend the letters to the editor described many concerns along the lines of people who aren't sure what to expect from Friendship Lodge. A stroll in the area and one or two questions of the local entrepreneurs and store owners also informs of concerns for the directions taken in downtown Prince George. The historic properties surrounding the 10 year old court house beckon to a brilliant future for downtown Prince George. This much is true. The court house is a magnificent building, architecturally perfect fitting in the strange surroundings of the bluffs and sharp sandy walls of a unique geological importance intersecting at so many corners of the city.
The arguments were anticipated by PGNFC executives including Barb and they forged ahead anyway, as well it seems they ought, because already the First Nations have made headway in putting up facilities for people downtown. There are a couple of hostels for men and co-ed users. The area has affordable hotel accommodation, and even so, heritage development is proceeding. It is not simply possible, but necessary the two go hand in hand, social development and economic development. This is the basic understanding behind First Nation thinking for downtown Prince George.
"They are permanent residences," said Barb, "for adults, with no criteria about race or gender. The facility will be self-contained," and the project is proceeding at pace, for, "They just demolished the old backpacker building downtown, and project is entering the rezoning phase," she explained, so the corner of Queensway and 17th can be transformed.
Make no mistake about it; the Friendship Lodge is a PGFNC undertaking. "We have been chosen as primary operator for this BC Housing facility," based on the proposal they put forth three years ago. They are fielding the criticism now, and will continue to abide by plans to ameliorate a housing crisis in the city. "It is primarily a mental health facility for people with FASD or schizophrenia. The program involves mental health professionals on a tactically essential basis. The facility is meant to improve lives, not put them on hold." It will be, said Barb, $1.5 million a year well spent. "It will run on a cost-recovery basis, for the tenants will pay rent."
