67 more housing units opening in Winnipeg to help people leave homeless encampments
'Nobody should have to call a tent a home when we live in such a rich country': housing minister
Manitoba has purchased 67 more social housing units to offer to people living in homeless encampments in Winnipeg, as part of the Your Way Home strategy launched earlier this year.
"Nobody should have to call a tent a home when we live in such a rich country," Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said at Friday's announcement.
The additional 67 units — spread across three locations — were purchased for $6.4 million and will be transformed and filled with tenants in collaboration with Main Street Project, Siloam Mission and Sunshine House, Smith said. They will include on-site supports for skill building and preparation for long-term housing.
Siloam Mission and Main Street Project are working together on a 41-unit building, while Sunshine House is in charge of a 14-unit building. The third site was an expansion by 12 units of a building already being used as part of the province's homelessness strategy.
The locations are not being revealed, in order to protect the privacy of the individuals who will live there, Premier Wab Kinew told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Friday morning.
Most, but not all, are in the downtown area.
"We see homelessness is not just a downtown problem anymore, so we're trying to be flexible with the areas," Kinew said.
Kinew has described the Your Way Home strategy as being like a ladder that moves people up to independence. The bottom rung is basic shelter, while the top is the private rental market, with various levels of supportive housing in between.
"Many of these folks living in encampments have complex mental health and addictions needs, and having wraparound supports will ensure that they are successful in their journey," Smith said.
Since the first person was moved from a tent into housing at the end of February, a total of 33 people have been rehoused from 17 different encampments, Kinew said Friday morning.
"Everyone that we have housed so far is still housed. Nobody has moved back into a tent since we've started this," he said.
The additional units announced Friday mean that total will help toward the homelessness strategy's target of finding housing for all encampment residents within eight years, but there's still a long way to go, Kinew said.
"We're talking about a group of about 700 Manitobans that we're trying to get out of tents and into housing. We're starting to make progress, [but] it's going to take continued effort to see the results we want," he said.
"The biggest thing is the lack of housing units. Even if you're buying an existing housing unit, it can take a year or two to do the necessary renovations and to open that up," Kinew said.
Of the 33 people now rehoused, 28 are in units announced on Friday. The 12 units that were part of the expansion project are filled, while Sunshine House's 14 units are home to 16 tenants, said Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, senior adviser to Kinew on homelessness.
The 41 units that will be operated by Siloam Mission and Main Street Project have yet to open. That will happen in stages over the next couple of months, Blaikie Whitecloud said.
"I wish we could just snap our fingers and have the housing units that we needed, and then it would just be a matter of connecting people with services," said Kinew.
"But we're trying to co-ordinate building the new units, taking care of issues on the street, and then getting people the services — mental health and addictions and others — that they need."
He underscored the multiple levels involved in making the strategy work, from those in the non-profit sector and municipal and provincial governments to Indigenous organizations and "the folks in encampments who are actually asking us, 'When is it my turn? When am I going to get moved out of a tent?'"
Jamil Mahmood, executive director of Main Street Project, said that approach is necessary, building on the experience of organizations that understand the challenges of chronically homeless people and how to support them.
"The need to build housing is not just the physical buildings, it's also how you build inside them — spaces that are full of care and love and community that people seek in their daily life. That's a big part of this, beyond just bringing more units on line," he said.
"In every sense of the way, it's a true partnership."
As part of their project, Siloam Mission will be in charge of renovating and providing maintenance services, while Main Street will provide 24-hour staffing and wraparound supports.
"Working towards a Winnipeg without chronic homelessness requires this type of partnership and collaboration," said Siloam Mission CEO Julianne Aitken.
All of the new sites will include common areas for tenants to connect and build community "and grow together," Mahmood said.
Advocate Al Wiebe, who spent 29 months living on Winnipeg's streets, said he's optimistic about the Your Way Home strategy, which appears to be considering what's needed to convince someone to abandon an encampment life.
Some prefer it because they've had bad experiences with landlords, because they have addictions that get them kicked out of apartments, or because they feel isolated living in a suite, preferring instead to be in a community, he said.
And when faced with paying for rent and food when you can't afford both, being homeless is easier than going hungry.
"As a person who spent five years in poverty after homelessness, I know how difficult it can be," he said.
Mental illness can also prevent people from making logical decisions, as in his case, he said.
He got to the point where he needed help because he became extremely ill. Sometimes people have to get to that point before they'll accept help, he said.
"There's just a multitude of reasons," which is why the wraparound supports to go with the housing are so important.
"If they can get that done right, it's a really good thing."
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With files from Ian Froese