Bear Clan Patrol getting its own den on Selkirk Avenue

The Bear Clan Patrol is getting a permanent home on Selkirk Avenue four years after the group's resurrection.

Since 2015, the Bear Clan's base of operations has been Ndinawe Youth Resource Centre, but leader James Favel says it has grown too big for the space.

"Ndinawe Youth Drop-in Centre has been a gracious host, and they've made us very comfortable there for several years already," Favel said in an interview on CBC Manitoba's afternoon radio show Up to Speed.

"When we first came there we were two boxes, with our flashlights and our vests. We have a lot more gear now, and so we kind of overstayed our welcome a bit."

The group was also limited in the amount of time it could spend at the centre, because it needed to be available for youth until 5:30 p.m., and the group had to leave by 9:30 p.m. after their patrols were done.

In their new space at 584 Selkirk Ave., dubbed the Bear Clan Den the group can be there 24 hours a day, as long as they have the volunteers, Favel said.

"That's going to be our new base of operations where we won't be getting under people's feet. We'll be able to have our own space," he said.

Favel hopes to open the space as a warming centre in the winter, as well as provide access to computers and the internet, TV, coffee, washing facilities and bathrooms for people in need.

It marks a significant step in the evolution of the group, which was revived following the disappearance and death of Tina Fontaine in 2014.

An official opening date has yet to be announced.