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CTV News
5 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
‘The public is frustrated:' Winnipeg mayor blasts province for pace of homeless encampment strategy
Mayor Scott Gillingham is frustrated about the slow speed of the province's homelessness strategy to get people out of encampments. Winnipeg's mayor is expressing his concern over the speed at which Manitoba's plan to end homelessness is moving forward. On Thursday, Scott Gillingham said he thinks 'nothing is moving fast enough' with the province's 'Your Way Home' strategy – a plan to get people out of encampments and into suitable housing with addiction and mental health supports. 'The bottleneck right now is there's not enough housing units available to take people out of encampments, put them into housing and get them wraparound supports. That is frustrating,' he said. The mayor's comments come as a motion before city hall looks to stop encampments from being set up in public spaces frequently used by families, including community centres, playgrounds and spray pads. The mayor said he's willing to work with councillors on this issue and find ways to protect public spaces from the overgrowth of encampments. 'The public is frustrated. I'm frustrated. There's not enough housing units available to move people from encampments into housing with wraparound supports,' Gillingham said. 'When you've got encampments in playgrounds it's concerning to residents. It's concerning to councillors…It is concerning to me, as well.' To complete the 'Your Way Home' plan, the province is buying and renovating apartment buildings and funding staffing supports through community organizations. The full strategy is available online.
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Mayes tries to address ‘battle' over homeless outreach turf
Coun. Brian Mayes says the city should 'encourage' St. Boniface Street Links and Main Street Project to start a dialogue with the city on how best to co-ordinate their work on the homeless problem. 'It's just so unfortunate that we've got some money (to tackle this), we want to reduce encampments and here we are with this battle over who should be doing the work,' said Mayes. The St. Vital councillor raised a motion at Thursday's city council meeting that calls for talks between the municipal government and two key homeless outreach providers, to ensure they help as many vulnerable people as possible and avoid overlapping their services. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Coun. Brian Mayes would like to see St. Boniface Street Links and Main Street Project work with the city on how best to co-ordinate their work on the homeless problem. In June, the City of Winnipeg awarded Main Street Project a $275,000 contract for mobile outreach services, with a focus on moving people out of encampments and into housing, as part of the provincial Your Way Home strategy. That made MSP the city's main outreach provider, about six weeks after the agency was accused of re-establishing a homeless encampment near the riverbank in Point Douglas. End Homelessness Winnipeg later told the Free Press that action was taken to move someone out of one encampment due to a safety concern, when other housing wasn't available. Mayes said MSP and Street Links have different approaches but both services are needed. He said co-ordination is key to ensure Main Street isn't sent by the city to support the same encampments the public reports to Street Links. 'How do we deal (with that)? Are we going to have two separate groups showing up and arguing?' he asked. Street Links recently said it will continue operating through donations in its initial zone east of the Red River, regardless of not getting the latest city grant, Mayes noted. 'If that's really the case, we can probably get a lot more bang for our buck through Main Street Project. If they (don't) have to cover as big of an area, if they (would just cover) west of the Red,' he said. Marion Willis, the executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, said her organization has a great success rate, housing 22 people in July alone. Rather than start new discussions, Willis would prefer the city give Street Links jurisdiction to keep handling outreach in its current area. 'The motion that I would look for … (would be one) that protects, by city council resolution, our ability to be the service provider for all of eastern Winnipeg,' she said. Willis said overlap has already occurred between the two organizations, as both tried to help one individual in a south Winnipeg encampment within the past week. 'There's a clash all along the Red on our side where people are being told they can stay where they are. Our approach is not going to be to support people to live in encampments. That's never going to be the case for us,' she said. Mayor Scott Gillingham said he believes outreach providers are already in dialogue, so calling for further talks would be redundant. 'All of those front-line agencies (have been) at the table and they are at the table on a regular basis,' said Gillingham. The mayor noted the city still provides some funding to Street Links, stressing he sees the need for both groups. 'There is, unfortunately, so much work to do when it comes to addressing homelessness right now and meeting the needs of unsheltered individuals,' he said. This year's city budget included $250,000 for Street Links 24/7 safe space and $59,375 for its mobile outreach service up to the end of June. The budget also included three funding pockets for Main Street Project, including: $86,400 for its Main Stay program; $178,126 for its mobile outreach (up to the end of June) and $275,000 for mobile outreach during the last six months of the year. Main Street Project did not grant an interview request on Thursday. In an email, the organization said it is working with all groups that provide outreach service to homeless people. 'We host a bi-weekly outreach meeting, and all outreach teams are invited to participate in those co-ordination meetings and use the Signal app for real-time communication between outreach providers. That will always remain open to all groups doing outreach,' wrote Jamil Mahmood, MSP's executive director, in the statement. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Mahmood added his organization encourages more unity among groups and governments to address homelessness. 'We are always willing to work with and co-ordinate with all the amazing teams doing such important work for our city,' he wrote. Council's executive policy committee will consider the matter in September. X: @joyanne_pursaga Joyanne PursagaReporter Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne. Every piece of reporting Joyanne 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Street Links' supporters demand slice of funding pie to shelter homeless
Anger and dismay filled the room as dozens of supporters and residents called on the City of Winnipeg to restore funding to St. Boniface Street Links after it lost a contract to help the homeless population find shelter. Extra chairs had to be brought in to the Norwood Community Centre to accommodate the packed room, which included members of the outreach team and Coun. Cindy Gilroy, the only politician in the room. 'We will not be discouraged,' outreach co-ordinator Michelle Wesley told the crowd, earning a round of applause. 'We're not going anywhere. We will continue showing up. We will continue to do the work… one street at a time.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, says the turnout and reaction at Thursday's meeting indicates 'that we've been very successful.' The city, which took responsibility for allocating funding under the province's Your Way Home strategy in April, awarded its sole $275,000 outreach contract to Main Street Project last month, leaving Street Links and other organizations in a lurch. Street Links' expired contract had involved provincial funding. Executive director Marion Willis said she took a step back after the decision to see how the community would respond. On Thursday, the message was clear. 'If the community responded, that would indicate to me that we've been very successful,' Willis said. 'Our success isn't just measured by the number of encampments we can dismantle, the number of people we can house. It's the extent to which we can engage the community to help them feel, that we all own the challenges and we're all part of the solutions.' In an internal email to Mayor Scott Gillingham and fellow councillors last week, Gilroy criticized the city's move to exclude Street Links and other groups from the round of funding. 'I've seen first-hand the difference their work makes not only in addressing homelessness, but in helping individuals struggling with addiction navigate systems that are often impossible to access without strong advocacy and support,' Gilroy wrote. Willis emphasized she has no objection to Main Street Project receiving the contract — the organization runs Winnipeg's only 24-7 outreach van — but questioned why other groups were excluded from funding. '(MSP and us) are not great friends,' she said, adding MSP's practices do not mirror those of Street Links. 'But there is a place for all of us out there. All of these outreach teams are doing the very best they can with what they have. It's going to take all of us.' Between 2022 and 2024, the city divided $550,000 in outreach funding between three groups: $356,250 to Main Street Project, $118,750 to St. Boniface Street Links, and $75,000 to Resource Assistance for Youth. Willis told attendees that previous funding had helped expand Street Links' outreach work into a $600,000 program — one she now intends to sustain through donors. She noted that past private contributions, including a $500,000 donation, will be reallocated to maintain outreach efforts. 'We don't have to report to the city; we don't have to report to the province,' she said. 'You know who we are going to report to? You. Because it's you who have funded the program all along.' The cuts have affected the West Central Women's Resource Centre, whose outreach team — the only one in Winnipeg targeted to women and gender-diverse people — will finish working on Sunday. The province did not renew its $256,000 contract, and no money was provided by the city. 'The real concern for us is that it will slow down the process of getting housed, that it will take away the emphasis on women and gender-diverse people who have unique needs when it comes to a housing search and their safety in encampments,' said Lorie English, executive director of the centre. Tom Scott of the Old Saint Boniface Residents' Association urged the city to reconsider. 'Everyone can do a job, but we want Marion to do the job here,' Scott said. 'We want the province and the city to find that funding to help with that.' Street Links still receives $250,000 annually from the city to help operate its 24/7 safe space. Earlier Thursday, Housing Minister Bernadette Smith said the province will continue to work with Street Links. She had met with Willis one day earlier to discuss the matter. 'That's why our government has provided over $800,000 both last year and this year to St. Boniface Street Links through health to house Manitobans who would otherwise be at risk of living in encampments after leaving hospital. We will continue to work with St. Boniface Street Links to ensure we build the units so Manitobans can move out of encampments and into safe homes.' Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. Smith, who spoke earlier in the day at an unrelated news conference in Brandon, said MSP has found shelter for 90 per cent of people who have been housed under the new Your Way Home program. 'So I have every confidence in the work that they are doing,' Smith said, adding that MSP has been going to encampments and knows many of those who are unsheltered. Since the provincial program began, 45 people have been sheltered, of which MSP found homes for 41 of them. Smith pointed out the government is providing more than $800,000 to the women's resource centre for transitional housing units, which include wraparound supports. 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
02-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
City awards sole outreach contract to Main Street Project
Main Street Project is set to become the only city-funded provider of 24-hour mobile outreach services in Winnipeg, marking a departure from the previous funding model in which money was dispersed to a trio of agencies. The City of Winnipeg awarded Main Street Project a $275,000 contract on June 30, under the requirement it focus on moving people from encampments and into housing, in compliance with the provincial homelessness strategy. The contract comes six weeks after the agency was accused of reestablishing a homeless encampment near a Point Douglas riverbank, raising condemnation from community members and government officials. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS An homeless encampment on the banks of the Red River along the North Winnipeg Parkway near Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg. BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS An homeless encampment on the banks of the Red River along the North Winnipeg Parkway near Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg. Speaking to the Free Press for the first time since the May 20 incident, executive director Jamil Mahood defended the move, saying it was necessary. 'There is not enough housing for people, so we still need to find a way to buy time, for lack of a better word,' Mahood said by phone. 'In those cases, we will provide supports to people where they are at.' Controversy was sparked after a Point Douglas bystander captured video of Main Street Project staff dropping off two people near a riverbank and helping them set up a campsite. The Point Douglas Residents Committee condemned the actions in a letter to government. A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment on the new outreach contract Wednesday. Mahood said he has since met with Mayor Scott Gillingham and Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith to discuss the incident. It was made clear during those meetings that — under the new provincial homelessness strategy — outreach workers should no longer move people between encampments, Mahood said. 'We recognize now that under the Your Way Home strategy, the province is offering some new alternative solutions that we didn't have before,' he said. 'It's very clear there is no encampment-to-encampment moving… We have that message now.' Smith and Gillingham each provided statements to the Free Press Wednesday saying Main Street Project is expected to act in alignment with the strategy. 'It's very clear there is no encampment-to-encampment moving… We have that message now.'–Jamil Mahood The agency won the contract through a request for proposal tender, which launched May 22 and closed June 12. Applicants were reviewed and scored in a competitive process, based on specific criteria, city spokesperson Adam Campbell said in an email. The contract covers outreach efforts until Dec. 31, with the option of two one-year extensions, it said. The request for proposal sought applicants able to 'rapidly transition' people out of encampments and into better accommodations. When housing is unavailable, outreach teams should provide well-being checks, transportation, transfer to emergency shelters and referrals to other service providers, the request for proposal said. Mahood said his agency has always prioritized housing, but the lack of available units is challenging. He warned the current supply could dry up within the next month. Wednesdays Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences. Before introducing the tender process, the city provided annual funding to mobile outreach services, spending $550,000 between 2022 and 2024. Of those funds, $356,250 went to Main Street Project, $118,750 went to St. Boniface Street Links and $75,000 went to Resource Assistance for Youth, Campbell said. The move to instead seek contracts for the city's outreach services accompanied an update to the city's 2025 budget and was supported by a city council motion, Campbell said. The city would not confirm how many agencies submitted proposals, nor outline the amounts offered in other bids. Part of Main Street Project's proposal included an agreement to maintain the $75,000 in support to Resource Assistance for Youth via subcontracts, Mahood said. That agency will continue to respond to outreach calls involving youth, with Main Street Project picking up such calls after hours. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, says her agency has been 'frozen out.' MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, says her agency has been 'frozen out.' Meanwhile, the executive director of Street Links said her agency has been 'frozen out' without explanation. Marion Willis said her organization submitted a 32-page proposal for the contract. She expects all outreach calls reported through Winnipeg's 311 service will be rerouted to Main Street Project. Previously, calls for service in areas east of the Red River were referred to Street Links, as per a 2021 city council resolution. Mahood said he believes that is likely as well, although he has not had a formal discussion with the city. 'I'm furious, quite frankly, I can't believe just how wrong-headed this is,' Willis said. 'At the end of the day, what's happening here is what's been happening all along. This has all become so highly politicized.' 'We deliver outreach services to half the city of Winnipeg… Are we expected to do it for free now?' 'I'm furious, quite frankly, I can't believe just how wrong-headed this is.'–Marion Willis Mahood said Main Street Project will 'strive to work in partnership with St. Boniface Street Links as much as possible, so hopefully there is still a way we can continue.' The contract would have represented the only government funding Street Links receives, Willis said. She believes her agency was better suited to fulfill the vision of the province's housing strategy. Street Links and Main Street Project have previously feuded over their encampment philosophies: the former has stated it prioritizes housing first, while the latter has historically focused on meeting people where they are at. Tyler SearleReporter Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler. Every piece of reporting Tyler 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.
Winnipeg Free Press
19-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘We heard a scream': encampment ODs highlight city's drug, homeless crisis
What began as a routine training session for homelessness outreach workers Wednesday turned into a life-or-death emergency when two youths were found overdosing in an encampment behind the Granite Curling Club. Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, was showing her team a different part of the city — well known for its multiple encampments along the Assiniboine River — when the situation took a sudden turn. 'It was only by chance we ended up behind the Granite Curling Club, talking to some people who had small encampments there, when we heard a scream,' she said. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS The Wednesday afternoon incident in a riverbank encampment near the Granite Curling Club highlights the city's drug and homelessness crisis, Marion Willis said. The cry led them to a tent, where they found two youths who she said had overdosed on fentanyl. 'It took a considerable amount of naloxone and chest compressions to get them breathing again and keep them breathing until paramedics arrived,' Willis said. Emergency crews, including a fire engine and two ambulances, rushed to the scene. While the city declined to provide details due to privacy rules, photos and videos reviewed by the Free Press showed several responders treating the victims. Winnipeg police said they were called around 3:45 p.m. to help paramedics transport a male and a female to hospital, confirming both were youths. Willis said one of the youths became uncooperative after regaining consciousness and tried to flee. 'These were two kids,' Willis said. 'At the peak of it all, there were about 11 medical personnel there, two cruiser cars, and my team there. It was a baptism by fire for our team.' The incident highlights the city's drug and homelessness crisis, Willis said. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew announced the Your Way Home strategy in January, which aims to end chronic homelessness by 2031. Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, the lead on Manitoba's homelessness strategy, said Thursday the province is still on track to move 700 people out of encampments and into housing, despite sheltering only 45 people five months on. Blaikie Whitecloud said housing units are in the process of being built and blamed the former Progressive Conservative government for taking away affordable housing. She said more homes will be coming this month and over the summer, pointing to a May news release from the province that said 67 new housing units spread across three locations had been purchased for $6.4 million and will be filled with tenants in the coming months. RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Tents are seen along the riverbank in the area behind the Granite Curling Club Thursday. Blaikie Whitecloud said the province expects to get a clearer picture of how many people want housing once application data comes in next week. 'It takes a lot of time to build units… we're working as quickly as we can,' she said. 'We know the growth is going to get faster… as well, we are going to have people graduating into permanent, secure housing, reconnecting with family, and that's going to create units available for what we've already brought online.' Of the 45 people currently housed through the province, 41 came through Main Street Project, which runs multiple facilities beyond its downtown shelter. Blaikie Whitecloud said outreach work is being done to ensure people in encampments are as comfortable and as safe as they can be while they await approval through the application process. 'It's the first time in the years I've been in this sector that people are having a conversation about housing being a reality for them,' said the former Siloam Mission chief executive officer. 'So there's hope.' The provincial strategy offers low-barrier housing so that people living with addictions can still be housed and receive treatment and supports. Willis and Street Links workers dismantled the encampment where the two youths who overdosed had been living. With no garbage trucks available, some debris had to be left behind overnight. When they returned Thursday morning, the camp had already been rebuilt. A woman who put the encampment back up was offered housing by Street Links, and by Thursday afternoon, she had moved into transitional housing. A portion of the cleanup was recorded and shared on Willis's Facebook page. 'She cried tears of joy,' Willis said of the woman after she made the housing offer. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, said she and her team witnessed two youths overdosing in an encampment. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. By Thursday afternoon, garbage still littered the area, and a city worker could be seen collecting discarded needles. Willis believes Winnipeg's fentanyl crisis drives its homelessness problem — and that neither issue can be solved in isolation. Al Wiebe, who has lived through homelessness and now advocates for others, called the issue multi-pronged. 'It's always more than one issue,' he said. 'Mental illness, as well, plays a big role. Many have lost housing with rising housing and food costs. Addictions are a big part of it. I feel we should get the harm reduction set up 100 per cent correctly, or don't do it until all the elements are in place.' 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.
