‘I just want us to be safe’: SheDrives offers alternative driving services for Indigenous women

A woman in Edmonton is offering an alternative driving service to help Indigenous women like herself get around comfortably.

Regan Gamble is helping Indigenous women get to their destinations safely, one call at a time with SheDrives.

A residential school survivor from Okemasis Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Gamble said there’s a need for safe and comfortable transportation for Indigenous women.

• Download our app to get Edmonton alerts on your device

“For Indigenous people, we face a lot of discrimination, whether we want to believe it or not,” Gamble told CTV News Edmonton.

The idea for SheDrives came about from her own experiences.

“I think about a lot of different situations I have been in from my past, and I feel all of the pain and everything inside that I had to endure, and I just want to turn it into purpose,” said Gamble. “I just want us to be safe.”

According to the Assembly of First Nations, Indigenous women make up 16 per cent of female homicide victims.

“I think it means a lot for Indigenous women because a lot of times we don’t feel safe riding,” said SheDrives customer Nadine Cutarm, adding that Gamble made her feel comfortable during her ride.

Gamble said there is no limit to where she’ll go to get people from point A to point B, and that she wants to be a support for people in need.

“It’s such a gift, every ride,” she said. “There’s something that I take from it and there most definitely is something that they take as well.”