NiGiNan Housing Ventures highlights lived experience, culture, and collaboration at the Heart of the City Gala

By Chevi Rabbit, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – The Heart of the City gala hosted by NiGiNan Housing Ventures brought together frontline workers, Indigenous leaders, and community members to celebrate achievements in housing support, cultural connection, and lived-experience leadership.

Christine Davies, Director of Housing and Programs with NiGiNan Housing Ventures, is Métis and from Treaty 6 territory. She said the event was built quickly from a shared vision that reflected the organization’s broader values of community, culture, and collaboration. The Heart of the City Awards Brunch took place on May 31, 2026 at the Northeast River Valley Park Event Centre in Edmonton.

“I’ve attended a lot of conferences and galas over the years, but there was something really special about this event. You could feel the spirit in the room,” Davies said. “It came together very quickly from a vision, and that’s something we do well as an organization. We have a vision, and our staff work incredibly hard to bring it to life.”

Davies said the event was first inspired by the need to recognize frontline workers who often go unacknowledged despite doing critical work in housing and outreach.

“A staff member attended an awards ceremony and said, ‘We need to do this for our frontline workers.’ We’re talking about the people who do the heart of this work every day – our custodians, outreach workers, support staff, and the people on the ground helping save lives and support community members.”

She added that the gala was also designed to reduce silos in the housing sector and encourage collaboration among agencies that often compete for limited resources.

“There can be a lot of silos in the sector because agencies are often competing for the same funding. We wanted to create an opportunity to come together, celebrate one another, and recognize the importance of lived experience and frontline leadership.”

A central theme of the evening was elevating lived-experience voices and ensuring they are included in leadership and decision-making spaces.

“Our CEO, Keri Cardinal, has called this the year of lived-experience voices, and that became a guiding principle for the awards ceremony. We wanted the focus to be on celebrating people, sharing stories, and creating space for community.”

Recognizing frontline excellence and cultural values

The gala featured several awards recognizing community impact, cultural teachings, and frontline excellence.

“The first award was the Ambrose Daniels Award, which recognizes outstanding community impact by a frontline worker,” Davies said.

Other awards were grounded in the Four Natural Laws – kindness, honesty, sharing, and strength – principles that guide NiGiNan’s work and approach to service delivery.

“We presented awards for kindness, honesty, sharing, and strength, recognizing individuals who embody those values in their daily work and service to the community.”

The evening also included cultural recognition awards such as the Deadliest Auntie Award and Deadliest Uncle Award, which honour Indigenous identity, humour, and leadership within community spaces. The Leading with Love Award was particularly significant this year.

“This year, the Leading with Love Award was presented in memory of James Bellrose, a staff member we sadly lost last year,” Davies said. “It was a way to honour the hard work he did and the impact he had on those around him.”

She said the recognition also reflected the emotional realities of working in housing and social services. “This work can be very challenging, and many of the people who do it are carrying their own life experiences and personal journeys.”

Cultural celebration and community gathering

The gala also featured a strong cultural program, highlighting Indigenous artists and performers throughout the evening.

“Ashley Callingbull was our master of ceremonies for the event,” Davies said. “We had performances by Willow Gladue, Zach Willier, and throat singers who brought a powerful cultural element to the evening.”

The event closed with traditional participation-based dancing, bringing guests and community members together. “We closed the night with some jigging and a mini round dance, which was a really beautiful way to bring everyone together and end the evening in a good way.”

Lived experience at the centre of housing work

Davies emphasized that NiGiNan’s workforce model is grounded in lived experience, which she said strengthens both empathy and service delivery.

“Ninety per cent of our staff have lived experience, and I think that’s what makes us stand out as an agency,” she said.

She explained that this shared experience allows staff to approach service delivery with deeper understanding and compassion. “People with lived experience bring understanding, compassion, and empathy. They know the importance of treating people with dignity and respect because they’ve been there themselves.”

The organization also prioritizes cultural wellness supports for staff, recognizing the emotional demands of the work. “Our staff have access to sweats every Friday and other cultural supports. We recognize that this work can be challenging, and it’s important that people have opportunities to connect with culture and take care of themselves.”

NiGiNan also uses a flexible housing model that prioritizes care over exclusion when challenges arise. “We look at housing as a continuum of care. If someone isn’t successful in one building or program, we don’t immediately look at eviction or removing services. Instead, we ask what supports they need and whether they might be better supported in another one of our programs.”

Davies said this approach helps people maintain stability while receiving appropriate support. “As soon as I started working with NiGiNan, I felt like I was home. These were my people.”

Collaboration and growing system capacity

Davies said no single organization can meet the growing complexity of housing needs alone, especially as more individuals transition from hospitals and correctional facilities into community supports. “NiGiNan doesn’t want to be the only solution. We want to build capacity among other agencies and strengthen collaboration across the sector.”

She said the system is facing increased pressure due to rising mental health needs and overlapping service demands. “We’re seeing more complex needs, including increased mental health challenges, and that puts pressure on the entire housing sector. Capacity is becoming an issue across the board.”

Davies emphasized the importance of viewing housing as part of a broader system connected to health care and community services. “We need to continue to see housing as connected to health care. It’s about more collaboration, more resources, and more supports coming together.”

She pointed to partnerships with organizations such as Recovery Alberta and Red Road Healing Society as examples of effective collaboration. “We’re grateful for those partnerships, and we need to continue building on them. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.”

Strengthening Indigenous-led services

Davies also called for a shift in how Indigenous homelessness is discussed and addressed, emphasizing the need for Indigenous-led solutions. “We often hear that 70% of the unhoused population is Indigenous, but we should be turning that around and saying over 70% of services should be Indigenous-led,” she said.

She added that Indigenous organizations are already filling critical gaps in the system while working to expand capacity. “How do we build capacity as Indigenous-led agencies to better serve our people, provide access to culture, and use approaches that we know work?”

NiGiNan also delivers training through its internal centre of excellence, which supports both internal staff and external partners.

“We have a centre of excellence where we provide training not just for our own staff, but for other agencies as well,” she said. “We don’t want to be the only solution. We’re often a gap-filler in the housing sector, but our goal is to build capacity across the system.”