Funding aids 24-7 homeless services

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This article was published 19/07/2023 (989 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For the first time this winter in Brandon, there will be 24-7 drop-in services for the community’s homeless, after a one-time funding announcement from the provincial government.

More than $25 million in funding will go toward affordable housing initiatives in the province, including building new units as well as retrofitting existing buildings, and support teams will receive funding to provide wrap-around services for those who will be moving into the units.

The projects, including funds for the Blue Door in Brandon, were announced by Families Minister Rochelle Squires in Winnipeg on Tuesday as part of the government’s homeless strategy that was launched in January.

The government is making significant strides to address homelessness by improving co-operation among all levels of government and organizations that serve the homeless, said Squires.

“To make progress on ending homelessness, we are working collaboratively with community agencies to increase the supply of social housing, including culturally appropriate options for Indigenous peoples, and expand the capacity of service teams who provide a continuum of supports to tenants,” Squires stated in a news release.

Alongside Squires representing the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation (BNRC) was its executive director, Rushana Newman, who said the funding will allow them to meet people where they are.

“The Blue Door was born out of the needs of the people to create a safe, warm and welcoming atmosphere where clients access needed services and maintain their dignity,” Newman said. “Our clients can take regular showers, do their laundry, have a snack, feel welcomed and have access to wrap-around services like health care and applying for a birth certificate.”

The Blue Door in the Wheat City will receive $350,000, sharing $2.6 million with four other shelters in the province, which included $350,000 for the Thompson Homeless Shelter, $700,000 for the Canadian Mental Health Association in the Pas, and two projects in the city of Winnipeg at $600,000 each.

Brandon’s Blue Door is operated by Ask Auntie and funded through the BNRC and the federal government, and is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

But Newman said last winter, when the city’s Safe and Warm overnight shelter was full, they opened their doors for about two weeks when temperatures were -35 C, serving about 40 clients during the night who needed a place to stay.

“So, coming this October, it will be a 24-7 facility, and we’ll be using the funds for the nighttime,” said Newman.

“This will give us the ability to get more staff and security for the overnight component. We have some vulnerable clients who really need a place to sleep. So, even though we are not a shelter, we will be able to use this funding to provide some sleeping arrangements, if needed,” Newman said.

Additional funding announced by the provincial government on Tuesday included issuing a request for proposals with a total of $13.1 million to create 212 new social housing units through new builds or reconstruction of an existing building.

A total of $3.4 million has been allocated for the housing rent supplement program for 400 social units, which was launched at the end of June, and $5.8 million to fund community service teams that will support households moving into those units.

Information about where in Manitoba those units will be located was not shared with the Sun.

Shelters that are open 24-7 and making more housing available is an obvious first step the provincial government should have taken a long time ago, according to Winnipeg NDP MLA Bernadette Smith.

“It’s time to fix chronic homelessness for good with the NDP’s plan to get people off the street and into a home, and with the wrap-around supports they deserve, like mental health and addictions,” Smith said in a statement to The Sun.

While Newman said the new funding for the Blue Door is an answer to their prayers, she added: “We’ve outgrown that space.

“So, we’re looking for partners like the municipal government, the provincial government, the federal government, to partner with us to get us a bigger space.”

Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said he met with Squires in the past and that his “briefing notes” show that one of his requests was funding for an alternative evening location that worked alongside the Safe and Warm shelter.

“This is great. I didn’t know this particular piece was coming, but I’m really glad that it’s here. We know this is good for people in Brandon. And it’s a very good thing for BNRC who have the ability to help a lot of people, and that’s really important for us,” Fawcett said.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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