Complete renovation for Indigenous Perspectives Society

This story was originally published in The Westshore newsletter, March 15, 2022. 

When I first visited the Indigenous Perspectives Society building just east of the Veterans Memorial Parkway and Goldstream in Langford last fall, it was a standard issue industrial warehouse. Cinderblock walls were painted in mint palette ’80s colours, and low ceilings and worn carpets did not suit its current use as a social work centre, training facility, and meeting space.

The hollow ceilings were the opposite of sound proof, so in the midst of a profound training session, participants would hear every footstep, ringing phone, and muffled conversation from the offices above. Old ventilation made it impossible to burn sage in the healing circles, and any drumming would disrupt meetings upstairs.

IPS trains every social worker in BC who works with the Delegated Indigenous Child and Family Service Agencies. They also run reconciliatory training sessions for non-Indigenous organizations that work with Indigenous communities to help them learn Indigenous cultural perspectives, understand history, myths and stereotypes, and build local relationships.

The dingy, crowded feel of the building was doing no favours for the deep, vulnerable work IPS facilitates. Which made them an ideal candidate for HeroWork, a Victoria-based organization that renovates sub-par buildings for charities.

The Westshore reported on the start of the renovation in October, and I was thrilled to see the final result last weekend.

More than 450 people volunteered over the last couple of months under direction of executive director Trevor Bodkin and trades manager Kate Markham-Zantvoort. They stripped the building nearly down to its studs, added a sound-proof ceiling, rearranged the layout to increase training room capacity, built fully accessibly washrooms, a new kitchen, and breakout rooms with purpose-built ventilation so facilitators can burn sage as part of healing ceremonies.

The building is clad in raw cedar—the scent is unmistakable—and there’s space for art that IPS had stored away with no space to hang. The training room has a state-of-the-art conferencing system to make online participation more accessible. There’s a garden in the parking lot, and new skylights in the back offices that previously had no windows.

The grand reveal was a few months later than originally planned, due to a combination of supply chain delays and difficulty finding volunteers in such a tight construction market. But the end result is an immaculate, culturally reflective space.

In an unveiling event on Saturday, IPS’s executive director Rachelle Dallaire invited elder Butch Dick to open with a prayer, the Aunty Collective group of singers brought songs of thanks and grounding. HeroWork founder Paul Latour spoke of the cultural safety the new renovation provides for IPS to be better set up to spread their wisdom and teaching. Bodkin, beaming with satisfaction at seeing the multi-month job complete, spoke of the energy the main training room now has, which he called the result of all the intentions volunteers and designers brought to the work.

The next Cultural Perspectives Training at IPS is scheduled for July 8. IPS also does private training sessions for companies and organizations. HeroWork’s next project is the CoolAid cold weather shelter in Victoria.