Brantford’s Gihekdagye Friendship Centre will celebrate the recent purchase of its building with a special grand opening event on Thursday, August 20, 2026.
Also known as the Brantford Region Indigenous Support Centre (BRISC), Gihekdagye provides advocacy, as well as social, cultural and educational programming, to the urban Indigenous community of Brantford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties.
The City of Brantford and Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk counties border two of the largest reserves in Canada: Six Nations of the Grand River and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
According to the BRISC website, there’s an estimated urban Indigenous population of more than 12,000 people living in the areas, and the number is on the rise.
Shelly Hill, Executive Director of Gihekdagye Friendship Centre, said BRISC was established after the closure of Brantford’s last friendship centre in 2005 left significant gaps in community services.
“BRISC was incorporated in 2018 by some founding members who put the support centre together at that time, recognizing the need for Brantford and surrounding areas for those living off-reserve,” she said. “It eventually formulated into its own friendship centre, and we’ve been in operation, and growing tremendously, ever since. The work has been pretty much rooted in creating a safe, welcoming space for our Indigenous people and families to survive and to find connection.”
Hill said creating that sense of connection for people is especially important to her and her team.
“When you think about everything that’s transpired over history, we’ve been colonized from every aspect. But even with residential schools, generational trauma, and everything else, we’re very resilient people. We still continue to find ways to thrive and heal and to create foundational places where we can be proud of who we are,” she said. “Our motto as communal people is that we never face these challenges alone. Having a friendship centre, a place of our own, secures that foundation we need to widen our range of culturally grounded programs. It’s about finding ways to restore dignity, strengthen families and nurture who we are.”
Having previously been located on West Street and in Harmony Square, the Gihekdagye Friendship Centre recently moved to a new location at 274 Colborne Street to sustain its significant growth and expanding programming.
“We’ve expanded so much since I came on and we didn’t have an actual program space. A lot of the time, we would have to rent out space, especially for larger programs around Christmas and for youth events. The new space has helped a lot with being able to expand programs and services,” said Hill. “Where we were at Harmony Square didn’t offer very much space, especially because we’ve expanded from four programs to close to 13, and we now have around 22 staff. With this new space our programs can grow and we can offer more opportunities.”
While those running the organization were renting the new space, they were recently able to officially purchase the building.
“I have to truly thank our lenders, Keewaywin Capital and Vancity Community Investment Bank. They helped by lending us the money that was needed to purchase the building because it’s hard for a non-profit to qualify for a traditional loan. It took a lot to put our needs out there, and so I’m very happy and very grateful that they supported us,” said Hill. “It’s one thing to buy your own house, but buying a commercial property is another thing. It’s hard to describe, but you just know your ancestors are helping you through the course, and as long as you get through what needs to happen, then good things will come. From an executive director standpoint, it’s such a huge relief to be at this point, but now the hard work begins.”
With plans to transform the second floor of the building into a space for transitional housing, as well continuing to run programming, Hill said the staff will be working to establish a capital campaign and developing a roadmap for sustainability.
“Our organization offers a beacon of hope; a bridge between cultures and a safe harbour for Brantford overall,” she said. “We have a great board of directors and staff who really help with the support that’s needed to take something on like this because it’s not easy. I couldn’t do this work without them, but we can’t do this alone. We need the support of everybody and the community. But I just feel such a relief to be creating a place that was needed, and to create a legacy moving forward.”
For those who are interested in attending the grand opening, the event will be taking place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, August 20.
“We’ll have a little bit of a welcoming with some dignitaries in the beginning, as well as some Indigenous hors d’oeuvres and tours of the building,” said Hill. “But we just want everyone to come out and officially celebrate with us.”
Hill added that for those who would like to get involved and help support Gihekdagye Friendship Centre, they should keep an eye out on social media for when the capital campaign is up and running.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
