It’s been 30 years since MacNamara of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary died, but this community centre for kids, which opened in 1976, continues to be a direct translation of her belief that “No child who does not want to be alone should ever have to be.”
“She used to live down the street here on Ross Avenue. The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary still have the same house,” said Kerry Miller, Rossbrook House program manager. “Sr. Gerry opened her basement to the neighbourhood kids because she wanted to give them a place to hang out rather than hanging on the street.”
After some time, she had more kids than she knew what to do with. So she went to the city for permission to use the building that is now Rossbrook House.
“It was a church, but the church moved on. The building was abandoned… so she inquired to the city if she could use it for recreation,” said Miller.
Most of the kids who use the facilities are aboriginal. The building is open from 8 a.m. to midnight every day, except weekends, holidays and when there is no school and it’s open 24 hours.
Rossbrook has followed Mac-Namara’s tradition of hiring youth who attend the centre. The junior staff are teenagers age 12 to 17 who work part-time. After that, if there is a need, they can work as senior staff.
Rossbrook also runs elementary school, junior high school and senior high school programs in connection with the respective schools in the region, providing its students with a lower student-to- teacher ratio.
“You get kids that come from the reserves to the city and they put them in the mainstream schools and it’s like a big culture shock,” said Miller. “So now they come here and it’s more like what they expect at home.”
Rossbrook’s school program has seven teachers and three teachers’ assistants.
“In a mainstream school, you will have one teacher for 25, 30 students, and here it’s maybe one to 10,” Miller said.
Rossbrook also has a youth advisory committee to consult on current activities and plan for future ones. There are leadership programs for the younger kids that has them working in the community and allows them to earn money for school supplies and clothing.
The house has a commercial grade kitchen to cook for the children and vans to take the kids home.
MacNamara was born in Toronto in 1938, but received her undergraduate degree from the University of Manitoba in 1959. She went on to receive a certificate and a bachelor of education. In 1978, she was the first non- aboriginal to be named “Native Citizen of the Year.” The same year she received the Order of Canada, she received the University of Manitoba Distinguished Service Award and the Solicitor General’s Crime Prevention Award. In 1985, a playground in Winnipeg was named after her.
For more information on Rossbrook House and MacNamara’s legacy, visit www.rossbrookhouse.ca.