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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
31-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
Political turf war over outreach centre comes at expense of vulnerable Islanders, says advocate
Social Sharing An advocate who works to get vulnerable people housed says the Community Outreach Centre's location on Park Street in Charlottetown is making a difference, but recent political debates over whether it should stay there are creating uncertainty for those who rely on its services. Chris Clay, the co-ordinator of the Native Council of P.E.I.'s Reaching Home project, said he's seen first-hand how the centre provides critical support to Islanders who are often overlooked or stigmatized. "I've seen a huge improvement in the services at the outreach center. The clinic that they're running now is fantastic," he told CBC's Island Morning. "It helps address a lot of needs to the population that don't often get to see doctors. The services that the case managers are doing down there are phenomenal, and they're providing such good help to the people who need it." Political dispute over location Park Street is the outreach centre's fifth location since it first opened in January 2020 at 211 Euston St. to serve Islanders in need of access to financial assistance, counselling, employment, food and housing. Some residents in the area have expressed concerns about the location, citing fears for their safety. There were similar complaints when the centre was located on Euston Street. Clay said the current location has worked well because it's within walking distance of downtown Charlottetown and essential services. But the future of the centre and the nearby emergency shelter recently became the focus of a heated debate between the City of Charlottetown and the P.E.I. government. Last week, city council voted to reject the province's request for a zoning change that would have allowed the operations to remain on Park Street. Two days later, P.E.I. Housing Minister Steven Myers said the province would set up a special zone in the area that would allow the shelter and outreach centre to stay in place, effectively overriding council's decision. Myers went as far as using words like "lies" and "coward" when referring to the city's vote against the zoning change. Mayor Philip Brown later told CBC News he wants to avoid what he called a "sandbox fight," but he did not rule out taking the province to court over the issue. Charlottetown mayor wants Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities to step in on Park Street dispute 3 days ago Duration 6:42 'This is not just about Charlottetown,' Mayor Philip Brown warned as he responded to the P.E.I. government's move to give itself planning power over the Park Street parcel of land that hosts outreach services for vulnerable Islanders. That followed a vote by Brown's council to deny the province a variance to let the services stay in that part of Charlottetown. Brown spoke with Louise Martin of CBC News: Compass about the standoff. Clay said the political discord is happening just as staff at the outreach centre are seeing positive results. "Every time we get a few steps ahead, we seem to find barriers," he said. "It affects the people who access the services and the service providers who are trying to give them out. If we don't have a central location to work from, then it's hard to find this population." Clay acknowledged that political discussions are necessary because funding for the outreach centre and shelter comes through government. "I just wish that it would be through a lens of more caring about the population that they're arguing over." Vulnerable population, staff bearing the brunt Clay said the uncertainty surrounding the location of these services is making life even more difficult for vulnerable people. "They're the ones that get the brunt of the anger," he said. "It's not so much the political side of the argument, but the neighbourhoods, the public interactions — it often casts the people who need the services in the worst eye." Then there's the impact on the staff. "It's hard to set down connections. Our job is based a lot on relationships, and if you can't build a relationship of stability, then it's hard to keep providing the services to the people who need them the most." 'Anchor of stability' Looking ahead, Clay believes moving the centre again would be costly and unnecessary. "If both sides could meet and come with a better plan going forward on how to provide services instead of fighting over locations, we can better serve the people," he said. Housing Minister Steven Myers on province's decision to make Park Street a 'special planning area' 4 days ago Duration 7:14 P.E.I.'s minister of housing is standing firm on the location of the Community Outreach Centre and emergency shelter in Charlottetown. As Steven Myers tells Louise Martin of CBC News: Compass, the province is enacting a regulatory amendment to ensure it stays on Park Street. Some city councillors have suggested decentralizing services instead of keeping everything in one location. Clay noted there is already a level of decentralization, with the offices of organizations like Peers Alliance, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Native Council of P.E.I. spread across Charlottetown. "Everything else around them is chaos. If you're living rough, there's a lot of reasons — you know, economic struggles, mental health struggles, addiction issues — there's a lot of reasons to be homelessness," Clay said. "To have one little anchor of stability in that storm is [massive]." Last year, the P.E.I. government released a five-year plan aimed at increasing the province's housing supply and addressing the ongoing housing crisis. The strategy takes a housing-first approach to people dealing with homelessness, focusing on transitional and supportive housing. Clay said that plan is still in its early stages, but "the direction is definitely on the right path." Discussions are ongoing about the kind of housing needed to set people up for success. He pointed to an existing program, the Salvation Army's New Roots initiative, as an example of what works. The program provides supportive transitional housing with caseworker check-ins to ensure clients are doing well. "Those programs are starting to show the province and our funders that more supportive, more wrap-around supports will lead to more successful client interaction."
CBC
11-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
5-bedroom transitional home opens in Yellowknife for people back from addictions treatment
Social Sharing A five-bedroom home in Yellowknife will host a new transitional housing program for people returning from addictions treatment. On Monday afternoon, the territorial government, City of Yellowknife and Salvation Army unveiled the home — the first of its kind for the Transitional Housing for Addictions Recovery Program (THARP). The program came about as an effort to close a gap in aftercare services for people returning from treatment. "We are not just opening a building. We are opening up a new chapter of hope and healing," said Lucy Kuptana, the N.W.T.'s housing minister. Laughter — and perhaps a poignant moment — rose as a fierce wind attempted to blow down signs for the housing announcement behind her. "That's what we need to do throughout the North, is stabilize housing," she said with a chuckle, steadying the signs. Billed as the first program of its kind in the N.W.T. and located in a residential neighbourhood, the home will have staff with training in addictions treatment on-site 24 hours a day. Health and Social Services Minister Lesa Semmler said it would provide "stable, sober housing" for residents. Semmler said her department would be working closely with the Salvation Army, which will run the residence and deliver programming. Tony Brushett, the Salvation Army's executive director, said the hope is that the program will help people who don't have stable housing. The organization is hoping to start welcoming residents in April. He said in the past, the Salvation Army has been able to help people go south for longer treatment programs — but there was little support when they returned. "They would quite often finish those programs and get dropped right in front of the shelter they came from, which was the epicentre of where their problems were," he said. The home was purchased and renovated with $1.3 million in federal money, applied for by the N.W.T. government through Yellowknife's partnership with the federal Reaching Home strategy. A similar transitional housing project is expected to open in Inuvik later this year.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The governments of Canada and Nova Scotia announce investments in reducing homelessness and an agreement to address unsheltered homelessness
HALIFAX, NS, Feb. 26, 2025 /CNW/ - The federal government is investing over $14 million to support communities in addressing homelessness in Nova Scotia, through Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy and the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI). Through Reaching Home, the federal government is supporting Halifax in preventing and reducing homelessness with an investment of more than $8.7 million allocated to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHANS). This brings the total allocation for Halifax through the Designated Communities stream of Reaching Home to $52.6 million over nine years from 2019-20 through 2027-28. As the Designated Community Entity in Halifax, AHANS works closely with stakeholders and community members on the front lines seeking to end homelessness in the region. This much needed funding will be invested in infrastructure and supports that work with some of the most vulnerable in our community to find suitable housing, and end the systemic challenges that contribute to chronic homelessness. Additionally, the federal government and the Government of Nova Scotia announced that an agreement to support people living without homes has been signed as part of the Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI). Under this agreement, the Government of Canada will contribute $5.3 million over two years. The Government of Nova Scotia will match this contribution. Funding will support the implementation of a Community Encampment Response Plan (CERP) that is tailored to the specific needs of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), and includes expanding outreach services, expanding and stabilizing shelter capacity, and strengthening collaboration with partners. Federal funding provided through this agreement is part of a $250-million commitment, outlined in Budget 2024, to address the urgent issue of encampments and unsheltered homelessness across Canada. Housing provides stability and security and serves as the foundation for overall well-being. Everyone has a right to safe housing, regardless of their circumstances. Every Canadian deserves a safe and affordable place to live. More agreements with provinces and territories are expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Quotes "We're committed to working with all orders of government to better support people who are unhoused, and we know that strong community partnerships make a real difference. There are many factors that can lead to someone losing a safe place to live. That's why we need to work together to make sure no one falls through the cracks. By expanding outreach, increasing shelter capacity, and building culturally responsive partnerships, we can provide immediate help while tackling the root causes of homelessness. These investments and efforts will help ensure that people across the province get the support they need as we work toward lasting, inclusive solutions to end homelessness." The Honourable Darren Fisher, Minister of Veterans Affairs, Associate Minister of National Defence and Member of Parliament for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour "Safe and stable housing is the foundation for a better future. Through this joint investment, we are not only addressing the immediate challenges of homelessness but also laying the groundwork for long-term solutions that will help more Nova Scotians secure permanent housing and the support they need to thrive." The Honourable Scott Armstrong, Minister of Opportunities and Social Development, Province of Nova Scotia "AHANS is privileged to be the community entity for Reaching Home in Halifax. The Government of Canada, through the creation, stabilization and support of the Reaching Program, has supported our community to deliver a coordinated, community led response to chronic homelessness in our region. This system prioritizes resources for those most at risk, and is a cornerstone of our mission to end homelessness in Nova Scotia. By putting service providers and community members at the front of a person centered approach to reduce and ultimately end homelessness here. This funding will be used to enhance the system, and fund infrastructure and supports for those who need them the most." Michael Kabalen, Executive Director AHANS Quick facts Reaching Home was launched in April 2019; the program supports the goals of the government's National Housing Strategy, and complements Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada's Housing Plan. Those goals include: supporting the needs of the most vulnerable people in Canada; improving access to safe, stable and affordable housing, and reducing chronic homelessness. Through Reaching Home, the federal government is investing $5 billion over nine years to address homelessness across Canada. The Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampments Initiative (UHEI) builds on existing programs like Reaching Home. The UHEI will help reduce the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, particularly those living in encampments. It is based on the deployment of a Community Encampment Response Plan (CERP) in each targeted community, adopting an approach that promotes housing stability with support services to ensure the dignity of individuals. Since 2015, the federal government has helped almost two million Canadians find a place to call home. Associated links Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy Canada's National Housing Strategy Canada's Housing Plan Follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn Web: Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada SOURCE Department of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities View original content: Sign in to access your portfolio
