Clinic helping wildfire evacuees with addiction issues
'There's been a lot of issues with it … we put in a hybrid addictions-treatment program in Winnipeg here that I think would be an excellent resource for evacuees,' Alex McDougall, the interim grand chief of Anisininew Okimawin, said.
The Anishininew Minoyawigumik Health and Healing Centre at 1880 Ellice Ave. opened in 2021 to provide health-care for members of the four Island Lake communities of Garden Hill, Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack.
KATLYN STREILEIN / FREE PRESS FILES
A rapid access to addictions medicine clinic opened at the Anishininew Minoyawigumik Health and Healing Centre in April.
Anisininew Okimawin opened a rapid access to addictions medicine clinic this April and began offering addictions counselling at the health centre to get ahead of an expected busy wildfire season.
'It's something we see and experience every summer during evacuations, and we're only now trying to provide some services so that we can mitigate any serious incidents and be able to provide some services and continuity of services for members even after returning home,' McDougall said.
Garden Hill is under a full wildfire evacuation, while St. Theresa Point and Wasagamack are under partial evacuations.
A massive wildfire moved within a kilometre of Wasagamack in 2017, forcing Island Lakes residents to evacuate to Winnipeg. McDougall said city drug dealers targeted evacuees, and some residents went home with addictions.
Last week, Winnipeg police charged two men who allegedly sold cocaine outside hotels where wildfire evacuees are staying, highlighting concerns displaced Manitobans could be exploited or targeted.
'It's always in the back of our minds, when we have to evacuate, that there are predators in these large urban centres that are targeting our people,' McDougall said.
There were about 1,200 evacuees staying in congregate shelters as of Thursday morning, a provincial spokesperson said.
Staff members at the clinic are visiting evacuation centres in Winnipeg to promote their services to community members and volunteers working at the hubs. McDougall said it's working, and people are going to the clinic to receive supports.
Christine Stevens, assistant deputy minister of the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization, said the justice department is providing wraparound support services in congregate shelters.
Social services and mental health supports are available day and night, Stevens said at a news conference Thursday.
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'Everyone has got to be safe, you know, when they're staying there,' she said.
Stevens said the EMO receives daily reports on what is happening within shelters, but wouldn't say whether the reports include substance use.
'We have good situational awareness of what's happening,' she said.
Nearly 13,000 residents are currently evacuated from wildfire-threatened communities. They are staying with friends and families, at hotels, and at evacuation centres.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole BuffieMultimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College's Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
Every piece of reporting Nicole produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
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