Building hope

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This article was published 19/03/2023 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s a chance to help curb a dreadful trend — an opportunity to bring renewed prosperity to the lives of some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable youth.

The Infiniti House of Hope is the latest transitional housing project set to lay roots in the Manitoba capital.

Operated by the Manitoba Métis Federation, the initiative, titled “Mazoun” — which translates to “home” — is exclusive to youth ages 16-24 that are leaving care with Métis Child, Family and Community Services.

The MMF is set to demolish the existing properties at 292 and 298 Edison Ave. this spring and erect a 12-unit side-by-side establishment by early summer of 2024.

“It’s very exciting,” said Will Goodon, Minister of Housing for the MMF. “There’s patterns, obviously, for kids who are in care, and a lot of them end up in the justice system, right? But if you invest in them on the front end and not just turn them out when they turn 18 — ‘OK, good luck, get out’ — then we end up spending so much money with keeping them housed in jails.

“Why can’t we invest in them a little bit longer? And that’s what this is all about.”

Goodon said Mazoun will cost more than $7 million dollars to complete. At the time of speaking, the MMF had received two million dollars in funding from Indigenous Services Canada.

Mazoun will offer three emergency rooms for people that need housing in times of crisis and provide wraparound support for residents, targeted at assisting through addiction, mental issues and trauma. Important workshops will also be available, in hopes of fostering independence among the youth.

“This will be one of the first of its kind to help these young adults get the skills they need. People have different issues in their lives and we need to support them so that they can be as successful as they can be and not continue the cycle that happened to them,” Goodon said.

“It’s obviously something that’s going to try to stop the cycle, but also help people be proud in who they are. Being proud and having a healthy self-esteem is so powerful. That’s a big part of what we’re trying to do.”

Mazoun has been in the works since 2019 when the federal government launched the Indigenous Homes Innovation Initiative (IHII) under then-Minister of Health Jane Philpott. The initiative called for innovative housing solutions for Indigenous people across the country, to which 342 applicants responded. Of those, 24 projects were approved, including two by the MMF.

The need for transitional housing for youth is undeniable. In Manitoba, there are approximately 12,000 children in Child and Family Services (CFS) care and 90 per cent of them are Indigenous, according to the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs’ website.

A 2021 study by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness revealed 22 per cent of the city’s homeless population are 24 years old and younger and two-thirds are Indigenous.

“For children coming out of care, (they) don’t automatically have everything they need to succeed in life and could struggle with a continued support system,” said Mona Buors, Minister of Métis Child and Family Services for the MMF. “That’s why we invest in them beyond the age of 18, including the development of the new transitional housing facility, to help them land on their feet along with additional supports to gain life skills like training opportunities and help to access post-secondary education.

“I have my own kids. At 18, just because we call them adults, doesn’t mean they are ready for real life out there, which is so difficult right now with drugs and mental stress with what’s happening in the world.”

Buors said once residents reach 25, a graduation ceremony will be held to set the child on its own to pursue post-secondary education or a career. However, she assured that won’t mean they’re on their own going forward.

“Hopefully, by the age of 25, they’re independent enough,” she said. “But the door is always open. We never leave them.”

Mazoun will erect two years after Shawenim Abinoojii retrofitted the Noble Court Apartments at 126 Alfred Ave. to create Nenookaasiins (Little Hummingbird), another transitional housing project for children aging out of CFS.

The property reopened in May 2022 to 24 young Indigenous tenants and has received encouraging feedback as it nears its one-year anniversary.

“There’s a real sense of community and a sense of ownership and belonging,” said Victoria Fisher, executive director for Shawenim Abinoojii. “We’ve just been having really positive experiences. Not like everything’s been perfect, there’s absolutely been challenges, but overall, this sense of community is really something we see as being beneficial for the young people who are living there.

‘The other feedback is there’s a number of kids who are becoming or are young parents. So having a place where it’s a positive environment for their kids has been some of the positive feedback.”

A clear sign of the demand for these initiatives, Fisher said in a previous interview with the Free Press that Nenookaasiins was at maximum capacity within two weeks of opening, its waiting list continuing to grow months later.

“It’s needed,” she said. “It’s important that the development of those resources are guided by the people it’s intended to serve. And I think it shows at 126 Alfred, the way we’ve been able to understand and connect and really empower the young people there. That comes from a sense of relationship and understanding.”

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca