Mayor names social-service veteran to help address homelessness in city

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This article was published 19/05/2023 (887 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new member of the mayor’s office will help the city co-ordinate with social-service agencies to tackle homelessness.

On Friday, Mayor Scott Gillingham delivered on an election promise by hiring a senior adviser on homelessness, naming Jarred Baker to the role.

After 15 years of work in social services, with a focus on the Indigenous community, Baker said he already has a working relationship to build on with those on the frontlines of helping vulnerable, unsheltered people.

His initial efforts will involve many meetings to further that dialogue.

“Obviously, ending homelessness is our main goal… I need to go out there, figure out what resources are out there, what’s working, what some of (the) challenges (are)… and (try) to steer that work all in the same direction,” he said.

Most recently, Baker served as executive director of Onashowewin, which provides restorative justice practices for people in conflict with the law. A member of Sandy Bay First Nation, he has held roles with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Eagle Urban Transition Centre, Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg and Ka Ni Kanichihk. He also served on boards for End Homelessness Winnipeg and the Native Clan Organization.

“I’m familiar with the different systems and how they have barriers for people. We have to remove some of those barriers.… All of these different organizations come together and we talk about how we can do system change. (We say) it would be really great if we had somebody on the policy side that we can work with. Now it looks like I’m that guy in that role, so I’m excited,” said Baker.

While some co-ordination between agencies already takes place, the groups can face some common obstacles, such as time-limited funding for projects, he said.

“It’s hard to keep your staff. You’re limited to two-year or one-year projects and then people… don’t know if it’s going to be renewed and they move on. There’s (also) system change, youth are (aging) out of care and they’re moving into homelessness, so I think we need to have better programs and plans available for them,” said Baker.

The mayor said Baker’s liaison work will aid collaboration between the city and social-service agencies, as well as with the provincial government.

“I really see him, in time, helping to be a catalyst to bring co-ordination together of a plan that will address the needs of homeless (Winnipeggers)… I want to make sure that, as a city, that we are working off of one plan where everybody has a role,” said Gillingham.

“I think that the pandemic has really exacerbated the challenge of homelessness and addiction issues (and) the sheer numbers of people struggling,” he added.

Some groups working to support homeless Winnipeggers welcomed the announcement.

“If this provides more of an open communication with the mayor’s office and city hall, if this provides more opportunity for collaboration in the sector, then that’s only a good thing,” said Luke Thiessen, a communications specialist with Siloam Mission.

Thiessen said more collaboration could help align grants and programs with specific needs. He hopes the new adviser will also help not-for-profit groups advocate to expand city services that help unsheltered Winnipeggers, such as by adding more hours at the downtown public washroom.

“(For) the city, while they are financially the smallest of the three layers of governments, there are a lot of ways in which their decisions impact the everyday lives of people experiencing homelessness,” said Thiessen.

End Homelessness Winnipeg called the mayor’s decision “wonderful” news.

“Jarred’s a great choice for this position. With his extensive background in the social-services field, particularly in serving the Indigenous community, he brings over 15 years of invaluable experience to this role,” wrote Steph Bisson, EHW’s communications and community relations manager, in an emailed statement.

Baker will begin the new job on June 5.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga