A prominent building on Portage Avenue is being used as a canvas to spread awareness and support for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
Staff and volunteers at New Directions launched their Red Dress Project Thursday by hanging 350 red dresses in the windows of their building at 717 Portage Avenue.
The Red Dress Project is an annual event held to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls across Canada.
Members of the public are asked to wear a red dress or to display a red dress in a public place as a symbol of hope and an acknowledgement that these women and girls have not been forgotten.
Darlene Daniels is the senior director at New Directions.
She said she hopes the display will act as a symbol of support for families affected by missing and murdered indigenous women and girls.
“It’s very haunting and powerful,” she said. “It represents every woman who is missing, and this is just a fraction.”
The dresses will be on display until June 24th.
