Street Links outreach program seeks additional city funding support

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This article was published 26/01/2023 (954 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg non-profit organization that supports vulnerable people will have to suspend its street outreach program without more government help, according to its founder.

A new motion at city hall is calling on the city to consider a $220,000 grant for St. Boniface Street Links in the 2023 budget to help keep the program going.

This year’s funding of about $80,000 isn’t enough, according to a motion by Coun. Matt Allard (St. Boniface).

“Without funding, we will have to pull the pin on our outreach program. We’re a highly impactful team,” Marion Willis, executive director of St. Boniface Street Links, told the Free Press. “We remain the only unfunded organization in this province with a mandate to end homelessness.”

The organization has about 22 staff members and an annual budget of about $1.6 million. A $220,000 grant from the city would go toward salaries for the outreach team, which amount to about $600,000 for the year, Willis said.

Many vulnerable residents will be affected if the team is taken off the streets, she said. There is an increasing demand for help due to a worsening drug crisis in the city, she added.

As a service provider for all areas east of the Red River, the agency helps connect people with supports for issues such as homelessness, addictions and mental health.

St. Boniface Street Links recently set up a temporary warming shelter to help people during bouts of extreme cold. It also operates Morberg House, a 12-bed transitional residence for men.

In December, the province announced $215,000 for the organization’s OASIS (outreach and supportive intervention for people who use substances) mobile outreach project. The funding covers a two-year period, Willis said.

Ottawa provided $322,000 over an 18-month period for the program, but the money will run out at 15 months, she said.

Allard, who met with Willis last week, said his motion will go to city hall’s executive policy committee in February for consideration.

Federal funding for St. Boniface Street Links is predicated on it having an outreach team, he said.

Issues such as homelessness and addiction were at the top of voters’s minds when he ran for re-election in October’s municipal election, Allard noted.

According to the councillor, St. Boniface Street Links achieves important results for the city with “so few dollars” in funding.

The outreach team has an excellent record when it comes to finding housing for people who don’t have homes, Allard said.

“It would be a tremendous loss,” he said.