‘An immediate need’: City councillor pledges funds to encampment outreach

Mynarski Coun. Ross Eadie is prepared to exhaust his ward’s community fund to support St. Boniface Street Links in addressing the growing encampment issue in North Point Douglas.

Eadie’s decision follows a letter from longtime North Point Douglas resident Howard Warren, who expressed deep frustration over what he described as the city’s and province’s failure to protect law-abiding citizens living near encampments.

In his letter to Mayor Scott Gillingham and city council earlier this month, Warren detailed alarming encounters, including a home break-in and another incident in which someone pulled a gun on him.

In response, Eadie said he intends to direct an estimated $45,000 to $50,000 from the Mynarski Ward Community fund to a local outreach group.

“I am making the decision right here to use up the rest of the Mynarski Ward Community Fund balance for (St. Boniface Street Links) to deal with encampments in the Mynarski Ward,” Eadie wrote as one of his three recommendations for action.

“I shouldn’t have to, as other needs in my ward need this money, but my residents have spoken.”

Beyond the funding, Eadie is also advocating for the creation of 24-7 neighbourhood action teams of police officers and paramedics. These teams, he said, would proactively monitor encampment areas and directly support residents.

While he acknowledges that launching such teams would require significant investment, Eadie believes they would ultimately reduce costs by helping to lower the number of encampments. He views it as a necessary step while the province works toward its Your Way Home strategy, which aims to eliminate encampment living by 2031.

“The province and city have pumped a lot of dollars into downtown for the same purposes, and it’s time we considered more than downtown as we face the same problems,” Eadie wrote.

“So, I call on my political colleagues at all levels to establish these teams until we get a better handle on encampments and assisting persons living outdoors in the city.”

Only 59 of approximately 700 individuals living in encampments have been housed under the plan, the provincial government said last week.

Eadie is also urging the city to explore the idea of sanctioned encampment spaces to prevent people from setting up in public parks and community gardens. He also voiced his support for a recent motion from Coun. Cindy Gilroy that calls for encampments to be banned from those areas.

“I ask other politicians not to judge my decision as I am merely serving my residents,” Eadie wrote. “For Main Street Project, this type of action will make it easier for them to provide their supports to individuals living in encampments who do have rights and responsibilities.”

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Speaking to the Free Press on Sunday, Eadie said he believes his constituents will support the reallocation of community funds toward encampment efforts. The money was initially earmarked for park renewal projects, but Eadie said he plans to use land dedication reserve funds to cover those instead.

“This is an immediate need,” he said. “It’s quite clear… there’s problems all around and we need to deal with it, and actually a lot of the so-called survivor crime, like stealing metal and all kinds of stuff that happens to be a bit further north in the ward as well.”

Marion Willis, head of St. Boniface Street Links, confirmed Sunday the organization is ready to focus on a project of Eadie’s choosing should the funding come through. She said the group would likely need to secure an additional building to accommodate people living in encampments.

Street Links lost its mobile outreach funding in late June after the city awarded a sole $275,000 contract to Main Street Project, the only outreach in the city that runs a 24-7 mobile outreach van.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca

Scott Billeck
Reporter

Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024.  Read more about Scott.

Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.