The Council Fire Native Cultural Centre is proud to announce that we have finally purchased a permanent home at 439 Dundas Street East, Toronto. For may years our facility was housed in the basement at 252 Parliament Street. Clients, workers and volunteers will attest to the dreariness of working in dark, cramped spaces below ground. Hard work, fundraising and perseverance have resulted in the purchase of a building just one block north of our former location. What a difference one block makes!

Our new facility is three floors with over 20, 000 square feet above ground with useable basement, banquet hall, full kitchen and games room. The ground and second floors have room for office space, classrooms, counselling activities and a chapel.

History of the Council Fire

The Centre was established in 1978 to provide support services for the many homeless young men in downtown Toronto. The Council Fire provided guidance, support, encouragement and crisis counselling services. The late Millie Redmond played a major role in developing the support systems required to create a better quality of life for young men in the city.

The number of clientele grew each year. With this growth the need for the types of services that the Council Fire was providing quickly grew to include children, women, seniors and youth, those that are homeless and marginally housed. With the increase in clientele, the programs and services base expanded significantly to meet the critical needs of the clients.

The Council Fire has become an important part of the lives of Aboriginal people who are living in downtown Toronto. Although numerous studies, surveys and proposals dating back to 1985 have been undertaken dealing with various aspects of programs and services offered by the Council Fire find a permanent location and additional space to better serve its clients.

The Council Fire's Goals

The Council Fire has three main objectives:

1. To provide direct services to natives living in downtown Toronto

The Council Fire provides direct assistance to those living downtown Toronto. Services are geared to men, women, seniors, children and youth who are low-income individuals and families, many of whom are homeless, live in hotels, emergency housing, inadequate or crowded housing. Programs and direct services provided include counselling, drop-in, overnight drop-in, food bank, clothing bank, meals, inmate support circle and legal services.

2. To enable individuals to better function in the urban environment

The programs and services listed above deal with immediate and basic needs. The Council Fire also provides services to ensure that individuals living in downtown Toronto can become more self-sufficient. Programs and services that have been developed to meet this need include literacy training, basic skills training, employment counselling, family nurturing and student placements.

3. To provide a centre for Native cultural/spiritual events

An important aspect of the Council Fire's goals is to provide services to its clients in a setting that is more comfortable to them. The Council Fire provides clients with an opportunity to learn more about their own culture events. The Council Fire can play role in assisting individuals to maintain links with their home communities and lessen the feelings of alienation that sometimes come living in an urban environment. Arts and crafts programs, visiting elders, youth, children and seniors' activities and programs are all carried out building a sense of community for all who participate.