New friendship centre for Dryden’s growing First Nation community

Dryden Native Friendship Centre (DNFC) hopes to become the gathering place for events in the community with its new facility.
Shelly Ledger, executive director for DNFC, said that the new centre resulted in a need to expand the old friendship centre.
When the costs of expanding matched the cost of moving and renovating an old motel, Ledger said knew what she had to do.
“Our other facility was a very small building, and though it was very useful at the time, it wasn’t accessible,” said Ledger.
She added that the old friendship centre didn’t have enough land for expansion, and the roads to it had suffered from disrepair.
Ledger said the infrastructure and social services available have to match a growing community.
The centre currently offers emergency food services, employment training and healthcare services amongst other services.
The building itself was a prime choice for the centre because of the condition of the building and its location, according to Ledger.
“The location actually works quite well for us because now we’re centrally located in north Dryden,” said Ledger. “We’re also actually right at the end of the overpass you have to cross to get downtown, so it’s perfect.
She added that they’re right beside the food bank, so they are able to network and share resources.
“We’ve been trying to get mainstream service providers to offer their services at the friendship centre,” said Ledger.
The renovations are currently still in progress for the second floor of the facility which will serve as a hall for gatherings.
Lucy Korobanik, a client of the facility, said that there are pros and cons to the new facility.
“Those people I hang around, they don’t like coming around here, but it’s nice, safe, and modern over here.”
She said they had a problem with people coming in intoxicated at the old friendship centre.
The new facility is on the intersection of Colonization Ave and King Street.