Plan being developed to tackle drug use, homelessness near church

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says a plan is in the works to address growing concerns over drug use and homelessness around an Osborne Village church after complaints from a nearby daycare, residents and businesses.

Gillingham said his senior adviser on homelessness, Jarred Baker, met with people in the area on Friday and was expected to provide a report later Monday outlining what was discussed and potential next steps.

Craig Wynands, executive director of 1JustCity, confirmed someone from the city met with Oak Table’s site lead, Thomas van der Krogt. Wynands also said he met Monday with officials from Augustine Centre and SPLASH Child Care.

“We discussed safety measures and increasing staff presence around the premises of the building,” he said. “1JustCity will be hiring additional staff to patrol the property regularly during the day.”

Wynands also said he received confirmation Monday of a $500,000 provincial grant as part of the province’s broader $6.8 million in funding for outreach organizations in Osborne Village and West Broadway. The money will be used to expand Oak Table’s hours and launch an outreach team.

“We will be putting together a staffing team and begin delivering services as soon as possible,” he said.

The concerns involve Augustine Centre (formerly Augustine United Church) at River Avenue and Osborne Street, where SPLASH Child Care shares the building with Oak Table, a 1JustCity-operated drop-in that provides meals, wellness and addiction supports, along with programs aimed at helping people build skills and secure housing and employment.

Last week, the Free Press reported that children at the daycare are routinely exposed to discarded needles, human feces and open drug use, prompting growing safety concerns among parents, residents and nearby business owners.

The daycare cares for 132 children ranging in age from a few months old to 12 years.

At an unrelated news conference in Old Market Square on Monday, Gillingham said the city will continue working with the province to address both public safety and addiction.

“I know they will continue to work with the province,” Gillingham said. “The city will continue to work with the province on the initiatives that are needed to make sure that people that are struggling with addiction get the help they need. But at the same time, making sure that communities are safe.”

Gillingham said parents should not have to worry about their children’s safety while dropping them off at daycare.

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“It’s one of the reasons why we have our encampment protocol, and one of the reasons why … we’re expanding the needle cleanup in parks and playgrounds in those areas,” the mayor said. “Parents shouldn’t have to be concerned about their kids’ safety and well-being when their kids are going to daycare.

“People that are struggling in sickness and mental health, and certainly addiction sickness, they need help. At the same time, though, we need to make our community safe and certainly safe for children.”

Meantime, the United Church of Canada, which owns the property at 444 River, said Monday the situation “is really a matter for the local congregation at St. Augustine, and not the Moderator, nor, by extension, the national church,” a spokesperson said in an email.

The church said it would not provide further comment until it has spoken with the congregation.

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.