‘They were in the cage with the lion’: Main Street drop-in centre Our Place/Chez Nous shuttered By: Kevin Rollason Posted: 7:07 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 8, 2023 Last Modified: 9:38 AM CDT Saturday, Sep. 9, 2023 Updates

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This article was published 08/09/2023 (1123 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After more than three decades of “providing a safe place for people of all backgrounds,” Our Place/Chez Nous Drop-In Centre has closed its doors for good.

The social services organization at 676 Main St. was to be reopened this week, following its annual summer break. However, a vote Tuesday during a meeting “with as many volunteers as we could get there,” ended with a 2-1 margin to close the centre.

Larry Stuart, a volunteer for 20 years, said it was due to a combination of factors — among them, the rising threat of violence linked to street drugs.

“Everybody is getting up there (in age),” Stuart said Friday. “Most of us are in our 70s and some are in their 80s.

“But the nature of this district post-COVID has changed and our people are a little bit nervous. There are now more mental health issues and more hard drugs on the street.”

“There are now more mental health issues and more hard drugs on the street.”–Larry Stuart

The downtown Winnipeg drop-in centre was shuttered for three years during the COVID-19 pandemic. It reopened in September 2022, before closing in June (as it normally does) to give its volunteers the summer off.

“It’s sad,” Stuart said. “I said, ‘We’re going to go away with tears.’ (One) fellow said, ‘This is like putting your dog down.’”

Kevin Birkett, a now-retired Winnipeg police officer who used to stop by the drop-in centre while walking the beat in the area, said many of the people it helped were ones who, because they had exhibited violence or aggressive behaviour, were banned from other social agencies in the area.

“They would never turn anyone away,” Birkett said. “(But) the prevailing circumstances made it untenable, with safety of the mostly older female volunteer staff being the most significant.

“I was 52 when I first walked in there on the beat, and I think the average age was probably the late 70s. And they weren’t outside the cage, they were in the cage with the lion.”

Our Place/Chez Nous was founded by Catholic Sister Jane McDonald in 1987. She died in 2003.

Originally, the drop-in centre was on Higgins Avenue (in a building now home to Thunderbird House) but it was forced to find a new location in 2005 because the roof needed major renovations.

For two mornings a week, Our Place had been helping feed, clothe and offer support and a warm place to be.

Its website says it is located “where the crush of human poverty, suffering, homelessness and brokenness co-exist.”

“St. Charles (Roman Catholic) parishioners stand as a light in the midst of this darkness… Ongoing weekly donations of food, baking, clothing, toiletries, financial offerings and prayers are the main expressions through which parishioners actively partner in serving the poorest of the poor in Winnipeg.”

“Yes, it is pretty rough down there, but… that’s a comment on what we’ve allowed to happen there. We’ve now normalized it is not safe on Main Street to help women in need.”–Sel Burrows

Birkett said many of the people helped by the parishioners call it “the Cross” because of the large cross affixed to the outside of the building.

“Oh no,” community activist Sel Burrows said when told Friday about the Our Place closure.

“That’s a whole group working with sex trade workers and others (and that support is now) gone. Yes, it is pretty rough down there, but… that’s a comment on what we’ve allowed to happen there. We’ve now normalized it is not safe on Main Street to help women in need.”

Winnipeg Archbishop Richard Gagnon praised the longtime efforts and accomplishments of Our Place/Chez Nous.

“I am very grateful for the many years of service to the poor on the streets of Winnipeg provided by the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Chez Nous drop-in centre,” Gagnon said. “They have provided a safe place for people of all backgrounds to come and rest and receive basic help in their time of need.

“It is sad to realize that the time has come to cease this outreach ministry at Chez Nous, but we pray that the Lord will show us a new direction to take in the service to those in need.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca