NIMBYs. Funder hurdles. Now, rising inflation. Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society won’t give up

“All throughout this journey I’ve wondered ‘Oh my God, what did I get myself into? But I can’t stop. It’s a vision,” says project’s executive director

Why It Matters

Charities that run food banks and meals-on-wheels programs aren’t the only ones being hit hard by inflation. Organizations that build community infrastructure, like affordable housing or healing lodges are feeling the pinch too. Funders must close the gap created by inflation in order to realize much-needed community infrastructure projects.

This journalism ​​is made possible by the Future of Good editorial fellowship covering the social impact world’s rapidly changing funding models, supported by Future of Good, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada. See our editorial ethics and standards here.

When inflation hit, Patti Pettigrew prayed. 

“I lay my tobacco down. I go into my own personal ceremony and I pray. And I ask my guides. [I say] here’s where I’m at. I need some help,” she says.  

Pettigrew is the founder and executive director of Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society, a charity working to build a 24-bed healing lodge for Indigenous women transitioning out of the criminal justice system — the first of its kind in Ontario

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