Home care resumes at North End Manitoba Housing building after security upgrades

Winnipeg Regional Health Authority is providing home-care services again inside a Manitoba Housing building previously deemed unsafe for employees.

The services resumed May 11 after additional security measures or changes were implemented at 145 Powers St. in Winnipeg’s North End, officials confirmed Tuesday.

“From what we understand, things have improved and we hope they’re going to continue,” said James Heinrichs, executive director of Winnipeg Housing Rehabilitation Corp., which manages the block.

WRHA stopped providing home-care services in the building in mid-March amid concerns about crime, drug use and unauthorized visitors.

Clients who live at 145 Powers, at Selkirk Avenue, were required to cross the street to the Indigenous Family Centre for home-care appointments. A security assessment was conducted at the high-rise.

Heinrichs said the building has an increased presence of contracted security staff and employees of WHRC and N’Dinawemak, plus regular visits by police.

N’Dinawemak provides supports to tenants, some of whom were placed in the building under the province’s strategy to end chronic homelessness.

“We continue to look at opportunities to have a greater presence in the building,” Heinrichs said. “More rounds are being made, more presence in the building. That means there are more eyes on what’s taking place.”

Heinrichs declined to elaborate on additional security measures or processes that were implemented or are being considered.

“We don’t want to be specific to that, obviously, with the type of things that have occurred in the past,” he said.

Some people attempted to evade security measures that existed previously. Unauthorized visitors were let in through a back door, for example.

The 12-storey tower already had two security guards per shift, a locked-door policy, key access fobs for tenants and a camera-equipped enterphone system at the front door.

Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith previously said Manitoba Housing stopped “tenanting” at 145 Powers in January after being alerted to safety issues.

“We wanted to stabilize and ensure that the folks that were living there had the supports and services that they need,” she said May 4.

A provincial government spokesperson had said more security “enhancements,” including a controlled entrance and physical space changes, were expected.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca