Latest news with #EndHomelessnessWinnipeg
Winnipeg Free Press
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg mayor troubled by outreach workers' role in setting up homeless camp
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham reacted forcefully Friday to residents' concerns about Main Street Project's role in setting up a homeless encampment this week. Gillingham, who was among the recipients of a letter from the Point Douglas Residents Committee detailing the incident involving the non-profit social-services agency, said he opposes any agency involvement in supporting encampments in the city. 'I don't want to see people in tents. I don't want to see people living along the riverbank. I don't want to see people living in parks. I don't want agencies in any way helping people to do that,' he said. 'I want to get everybody moved out of there, into housing, with wraparound supports. Right now, we don't have enough housing. We're working on that.' While stopping short of commenting on behalf of the province, Gillingham said he doesn't believe assisting in encampment setups aligns with the spirit of the NDP government's $20-million Your Way Home strategy to combat chronic homelessness, which Premier Wab Kinew announced in January. 'We do a disservice to the people who are struggling unsheltered if we allow that to happen,' he said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES 'I don't want to see people in tents. I don't want to see people living along the riverbank. I don't want to see people living in parks. I don't want agencies in any way helping people to do that,' Mayor Scott Gillingham said. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES 'I don't want to see people in tents. I don't want to see people living along the riverbank. I don't want to see people living in parks. I don't want agencies in any way helping people to do that,' Mayor Scott Gillingham said. In a statement issued late Friday, Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said the province's strategy is clear. 'We expect community partners to transition people out of tents into safe, stable homes,' she said. 'We've been in contact with Main Street Project to ensure that all outreach efforts serve to move people into homes.' The Point Douglas group's letter, addressed to MSP, was also sent to Kinew, Progressive Conservative MLA Carrie Hiebert — the Opposition critic for housing, addictions and homelessness — the United Way, the Winnipeg Foundation and End Homelessness Winnipeg. It described the incident, witnessed by at least one resident, in which a Main Street Project van dropped off individuals with a tent, tarp, suitcases and other supplies, and then helped drag the equipment to the riverbank, where they helped to set up a camp where a previous one had recently been cleaned up. Main Street Project has repeatedly refused Free Press requests for comment. End Homelessness Winnipeg is an Indigenous-led organization responsible for distributing federal funds allotted locally from the national Reaching Home strategy. An EHW community advisory board takes calls for proposals based on Reaching Home directives and community priorities. EHW directed $726,000 to Main Street Project in the 2023-2024 fiscal year, according to that agency's latest financial report. Nearly all of it — $713,541 — went to the mobile outreach van's operations. EHW president and CEO Jason Whitford said Friday the workers' decision to assist in the camp setup was driven by safety concerns and a need to maintain trust with vulnerable community members. 'People are in survival mode, and we have to be sensitive of that,' he said. 'Outreach resources have the important job of building trust and building relationships… and getting people supported.' Later Friday, EHW issued a statement saying that while the Main Street Project has reaffirmed it does not support encampment setups and operates within a human rights-based framework, the incident has raised valid concerns about optics, public trust and community engagement. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES 'Outreach resources have the important job of building trust and building relationships… and getting people supported,' said Jason Whitford, president and CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg, MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES 'Outreach resources have the important job of building trust and building relationships… and getting people supported,' said Jason Whitford, president and CEO of End Homelessness Winnipeg, 'We hear the Point Douglas residents clearly,' Whitford said. 'No one wants encampments. But when no safe shelter is available, outreach workers face ethically complex choices. This is not a failure of compassion, but a failure of systems — and that must urgently change.' Whitford declined to comment on the specifics of Tuesday's incident but confirmed he had discussed the matter with MSP executive director Jamil Mahmood. 'We can't speculate that they were in a shelter and moved to an encampment,' Whitford said. 'They could have been in a location where they might have needed to be relocated, there might have been some personal issues that might have arisen there.' He said relocation should be the last resort. The vast majority of MSP's funding comes from taxpayer dollars, including more than a third of its $11.4 million in total grant money — $3.65 million — from Manitoba's Families Department. Combined, the province, via several departments, directed more than $7.5 million to the agency last year. The city contributed nearly $400,000, and the Winnipeg Police Service added $772,000 for MSP's Intoxicated Persons Detention Area. 'I have not heard of a situation of (MSP) misusing our funds,' Whitford said. 'They've used the funds as intended.' To address the issues raised in the Point Douglas Residents Committee's letter, EHW said it will convene a 'sector meeting' with MSP, provincial officials, Indigenous housing partners and Point Douglas residents representatives to review protocols and improve co-ordination. It also plans to support better communication with residents. 'It is unacceptable that in a city as resourceful as Winnipeg, the only option some people have is a tent by the river,' he said. 'This must be a call to action — for more supportive housing, clearer protocols and a shared commitment to dignity, safety and accountability.' Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, the premier's senior adviser on ending chronic homelessness, was not made available for an interview by the province Friday. Whitecloud, the former CEO of Siloam Mission, is leading the co-ordination of the province's Your Way Home strategy, a two-year plan to relocate people living in outdoor encampments — one site at a time — and move them into appropriate housing with needed supports. Tuesdays A weekly look at politics close to home and around the world. City grants: • City of Winnipeg – $394,067 • WPS – $772,001 Provincial grants: • Winnipeg Regional Health Authority – $2,452,569 • Department of Families – $3,555,527 (up about $600,000 from the year before) • Manitoba Health and Community Wellness – $396,000 • Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living – $919,001 • Manitoba Department of Housing Operating subsidy – $199,412 • Province of Manitoba – $10,000 Community agency grants: • End Homelessness Winnipeg – $726,000 • United Way – $220,074 Scott BilleckReporter Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade's worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott. Every piece of reporting Scott 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. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
CBC
11-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
End Homelessness Winnipeg receives $27.3M in additional federal funding
End Homelessness Winnipeg is getting an additional $27.3 million in federal funding to prevent and reduce homelessness. A community advisory board at End Homelessness will decide how the funding will be spent, CEO Jason Whitford said at a news conference on Tuesday. The money will likely go toward strengthening housing first programs, extending hours at shelters, and homelessness preventative measures for children aging out of care and people exiting the justice system, he said. "Housing is more than just a roof over someone's head. It is about belonging, safety, healing and helping that individual fulfil their purpose," Whitford said. The funds come through the national homelessness strategy's designated communities and Indigenous homelessness streams, which provide funding to 64 urban areas, three territorial capitals, 30 Indigenous communities and rural and remote communities across Canada. Tuesday's announcement brings the total for Winnipeg through these streams to $174.7 million from 2019-20 to 2027-28. Whitford said more than 75 per cent of people experiencing homelessness in Winnipeg are Indigenous, although Indigenous people only make up 14 per cent of Winnipeg's total population. "Addressing this disparity requires solutions that are Indigenous-led, culturally grounded and driven by the voices of those most affected to create lasting change," he said. End Homelessness Winnipeg, which works to address systemic barriers contributing to homelessness in the city, completed a point-in-time street census count in November last year that will be released in mid-April, Whitford said. The preliminary results from the survey suggest there has been an influx of people exiting the justice system and child-welfare system who are released into shelters because they have nowhere else to go, he said. Investing in appropriate and innovative housing support reduces homelessness, restores dignity, strengthens community and promotes reconciliation, he said. "Eliminating chronic homelessness takes a co-ordinated effort," Winnipeg South Centre MP Ben Carr said at the news conference. Living without adequate housing prevents people from improving their lives, Carr said, and intergenerational trauma, mental health struggles, addictions and other socio-economic barriers contribute to chronic homelessness.
CBC
08-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
Manitoba affordable housing providers worry trade war could result in cost spikes, delays for families
A pair of not-for-profit Manitoba organizations are concerned a potential trade war between Canada and the U.S. could have a negative impact on their ability to provide housing for those who need it most. "We already have our shelters working at capacity. We have our emergency services that are stressed and strained. We have pressure on our health system. So if we are to say that these tariffs might contribute to more homeless, there's a very real threat of that occurring," End Homelessness Winnipeg chief executive officer Jason Whitford said Thursday at one of the organization's build sites. U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to levy a 25 per cent tariff on most Canadian goods before agreeing to a 30-day pause with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday. If the U.S. tariffs do come into effect, the Canadian government plans to put counter-tariffs on U.S. goods. Whitford says End Homelessness Winnipeg has at least a dozen developments underway related to social, transitional and supportive housing that addresses the needs of various demographics, including for women fleeing domestic violence. A potential economic spat with the U.S. would likely result in increased costs of materials to build low-income housing, despite about 70 per cent of supplies coming from within Canada. "The reality across new construction, across renovations is we're highly reliant on the U.S. economy to provide us with products that we need. And currently across the board, it's estimated that 30 per cent of those products originate from the United States," Whitford said. Rising costs of lumber, steel and heating and ventilation will likely have an impact on individual projects, he said. "That's going to impact our ability to produce 300 to 400 housing units a year. It might knock that down by 25 per cent, and that's concerning, because we already have a challenge out there," Whitford said. New approaches have to be undertaken, he said, like finding new suppliers and exploring cost-effective ways to supply low-income housing, such as whether it's cheaper to renovate an existing property or build new. Whitford said organizations like his could also be affected by financial constraints that tariffs could cause for community partners and multiple levels of government. "We don't want to be hit with sticker shock at the end of the project and look at the ability of organizations to pay the bill at the end. And where is the money going to come from for these projects?" he said. "We're heavily reliant on community organizations to take on these projects." At Habitat for Humanity Manitoba, CEO Jamie Hall also worries that counter-tariffs could make it tougher to attract donor support. "We have some very generous donors, but if they're feeling uncertain, they may not be able to be as generous because of the uncertainty in their businesses, and so that will affect us," Hall said Thursday. Habitat for Humanity is committed to building a minimum of 26 homes this year in Winnipeg, Brandon, Selkirk, Killarney, Portage la Prairie and Neepawa, Hall said, but if costs go up, that could cause delays. "It's going to slow down the pace at which we can build, but we'd still be committed to serving those families that we're working in partnership with," Hall said. "It just might take us longer." Fortunately, and like End Homelessness Winnipeg, most of Habitat's products are sourced in Canada, but any increase in costs due to tariffs and counter-tariffs will limit the amount of construction that can be done. "We're still in the wait and see and figuring out how, you know, how much that will affect the material that we have that might come from the U.S.," Hall said.
