Lodge gets facelift

Wequedong Lodge is currently renovating a new building where it will be able to better serve its clients under one roof.
Work has already begun on the 435 Balmoral St. building, which was previously a school and adult education centre in Thunder Bay. Renovations will be finished in April or May allowing for 50 beds at the site. Construction of a new building on the same site will begin in March or April.
“What you’re seeing is the result of the single building committee’s work,” said Wequedong Lodge executive director Charles Morris.
The new site, once renovations and new construction are done, will be able to accommodate 110 users. It means the end of days when Wequedong operated four lodges at once. It currently operates two, serving as a home away from home from northern First Nation members in Thunder Bay for medical appointments.
Being in a centralized location and able to offer all its services including lodging, meals and translation under one roof, will benefit the clients, Morris said.
“We’ve had a significant increase in clients,” Morris said. “Our client volume has doubled in the past five years. Now they won’t have to run from site to site to site.”
The lodge assists up to 200 people a day with 140 being the average, Morris said.
Morris and other Wequedong officials opened up the new location for a tour Nov. 12 where $4-million in funding was announced. Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services provided $3-million and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund provided $1-million.