Seeking solace at Velma’s House: a 24/7 safe space

Imagine moving from place to place with all your belongings, unsure of where your next meal will come from or where you can sleep, questioning whether any situation or person you encounter is safe, numbing yourself to deal with the uncertainty and despair. This is the daily reality for many people living on the street. It was the life C.H. was living, supporting herself through sex work, when she started coming to Velma's House on Sherbrook Street.

C.H. had trouble renting due a history of evictions, unaddressed mental health and addiction issues. She didn’t even have a phone, so it was tough to keep appointments with anyone who could help. C.H. says she began seeking solace at Velma's because of the welcoming environment, emotional support from staff and the patience, encouragement, understanding and love that they show women.

Velma’s House, a Ka Ni Kanichichk initiative, is the first 24/7, indigenous-led, low barrier safe space in Winnipeg specifically for women and gender diverse folks, funded in part by United Way Winnipeg. The space is named after Velma Orvis, an advocate in the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit epidemic. Low barrier in this instance means that being sober is not a requirement for assistance. Women and members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community can visit Velma’s House on a drop-in basis, without the need for an appointment.

“Other safe spaces or shelters are co-ed, which isn’t always a truly safe option for women, they feel safe here and welcomed in a space where the staff look like them and understand them,” explains Candace Abdilla, Program Coordinator at Velma’s House. “A lot of our participants have been sexually exploited; we provide a welcoming environment, free of shame to ensure our participants are comfortable while they warm up and seek safety.” Many of the staff have lived experience, have been impacted by colonialism, racism, poverty, substance use and sexual exploitation themselves.

Top industry pros to share renovation and design advice at the Winnipeg Renovation Show

WINNIPEG, MB, December 15, 2022 – The new year is right around the corner and the Winnipeg Renovation Show is back to bring together a line-up of industry-leading, home improvement experts who will share their insight at the RBC Convention Centre from January 13-15, 2023. From tips and tricks to save money during a renovation, to how to renovate a vacation on wheels and 2023 design trends, Winnipeggers will find inspiration at every turn.

Those eager to get an inside look at the experts’ top tips for tackling a renovation in the new year can see what’s to come at the Winnipeg Renovation Show below:

Adding value to any home

Back by popular demand, celebrity contractor and TV host Bryan Baeumler, star of HGTV Canada's Island of Bryan will headline the Show.

The Sustainability Surge Is Coming — Manitoba Food & Beverage Businesses Are Getting Prepared

Saying that it’s been a tricky couple of years for Manitoba businesses in the food and beverage sector might just be the understatement of the century. Coming off the back of the pandemic that forced restaurants and retailers to close their doors, only to reopen amidst a massive labour shortage has given business owners some of the most trying times of their professional lives.

That’s without mentioning the global food shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and extreme weather events like the Manitoba drought in 2021 and historic flooding from earlier this year. How many more obstacles can Manitoba food growers, processors, distributors, and retailers possibly manage?

Well, there’s at least one more. Spurred on by the climate crisis, governments, investors, and consumers are now demanding that business activities meet a standard of sustainability beyond what’s been required in the past.

The good news, however, is that Manitoba is beautifully positioned to reap the rewards of the sustainability push.

Food for Thought

When COVID-19 hit Winnipeg in March 2020, nearly everyone was taken by surprise.

Still, no one was overly concerned at the time. The assumption was that the coronavirus would wreak havoc for a month or two, and then gradually fade away. Business and life would eventually resume, and the pesky virus would become a distant memory.

How wrong we were. As it turned out, the virus hung around much longer than expected and proved to be much more infectious and deadly than first anticipated. Public health orders were imposed by the province to limit the spread of the virus, forcing people to stay home and businesses to close.

Among the businesses hit hardest by the closures were local restaurants, who depend on a steady stream of loyal customers to support their business.

Repair, rebuild Canada’s trade-infrastructure reputation

Premier Heather Stefanson recently noted in a public release that, this month, she assumes the position of Chair of the next Council of the Federation, and will continue the push for increased federal transfers for health care.

We agree on the priority. The pandemic has put our health care facilities and services through the ringer. Canadians should not be anxiously sitting, in pain, on unacceptably long wait lists for hip or knee surgery, or to see a doctor in an emergency room.

It will take extraordinary effort, and funding, to repair the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted upon our health care systems.

But where will Ottawa find the billions of dollars in increased annual funding the premiers are demanding?

Five Tips for Successful Pet Sitting

So, you’re heading out of town for a few days, and you have to leave your beloved pet behind. Here are five tips to ensure your pet will be in good hands while you’re away.

Find the right fit

Just because your Facebook friend’s cousin’s neighbour dog sits from time to time, it doesn’t mean they’re qualified to care for your pet. You’ll want to find a pet sitter who has experience with the species, breed, age, activity level, health and temperament of your pet, or at least someone who you’re confident can handle your pet’s needs.

On pet-sitting sites like Rover.com, you can narrow your search based on the criteria that’s important to you. You’ll also have the extra assurance, knowing these pet sitters have been vetted based on their experience and safety practices—and they’re often backed by a company guarantee that will help you cover vet bills, should the unexpected occur.

Manitoba career training is just a click or call away

I am a heavy equipment operator and truck driver for Wayne’s Backhoe & Excavation located in Traverse Bay, Manitoba.

But it was not my first dream. When I was young, I wanted to be a heavy-duty welder. In high school, I majored in welding.

My dreams shifted the day my cousin threw me in a loader. I immediately thought “I want to do this!” I started doing small, odd, operating jobs locally. I then went on to acquire my HEO certifications at OETIM in 2016. While working as an equipment operator, I decided to challenge my Class 1 written test.

Once I passed, I jumped in the driver seat, with my licensed coworker beside me, and tried out the trucks for the first time. It was so exhilarating. At that moment I knew I wanted to get my Class 1 license. My grandpa, mother, brother, and boyfriend all have their Class 1 license, too.

Explore beyond your cabin door

Much of the beauty of cabin life is in exploring the terrain. It’s even better with a furry friend by your side, though you’ll want to take measures to keep you both safe and healthy.

Pick your path

“Almost every trail in Manitoba is dog friendly,” says Jaime Manness, a longtime volunteer at Trails Manitoba and founder of Hike Manitoba. The exception is Brokenhead Wetland Interpretive Trail, due to its fragile ecosystem. A quick online search will tell of advisories and closures, or you can inquire at your local park office.

Train for the trail

Summer fun for the whole family

As the days get longer and the weather gets warmer, you might be craving some family time outside of your home. We’ve got the fix to help you and your family make the most of our short but spectacular summers.

Sweet treats

Dug and Betty’s Ice Creamery, 309 Des Meurons St.Dug & Betty’s namesakes are two basset hounds, so it’s no wonder this famed Winnipeg ice cream shop has something for everyone — right down to the pup cones it makes for its four-legged guests.

With a takeout window and picnic tables, you don’t have to worry about your kids spilling ice cream here. Its family-friendly atmosphere, along with its house-made hard ice cream, is what Dug & Betty’s is known for.

Taking Joy in Cooking

Growing a farmers’-market favourite into a semi-nationally distributed mustard brand is quite a leap. But Smak Dab founder Carly Minish-Wytinck’s success story isn’t about risky business moves. It’s about taking one sure-footed step at a time.

The Red Seal chef came up with the idea for Smak Dab one Christmas when she made mustard as gifts, and discovered she had a hit.

“Working in restaurants, I learned that mustard was incredibly versatile and valuable in the kitchen, so I played around with a recipe using beer and chipotle and gave it to my family — they loved it and that’s how it got going,” she says.

Minish-Wytinck grew up in a family of food lovers, and her “business why” is deeply rooted in bringing joy back to home cooking.

Humane Society CEO Embraces Animal Advocacy

For a lifelong animal advocate, it truly is the cat’s meow to work in a profession that helps our furry friends.

Jessica Miller became Winnipeg Humane Society’s chief executive officer last February after serving as a board member for several years. However, she initially embarked on this journey when she was only 13.

“It was then I started to become aware of animal welfare issues and took an interest in doing what I could at that young age: becoming a vegetarian, signing petitions, volunteering and taking my education seriously,” she says.

“From adolescent to adulthood, I climbed the corporate ladder but never forgetting where my true passion originated. Obtaining the CEO position for the WHS was like having your cake and eating it too.”

Prevent winter’s biting effects

Even the most experienced veterinarian can get disturbed when observing the excruciating pain caused by pets that are exposed to the Arctic chill too long.

“I just saw a cat the other day that had frostbite affecting all four paw pads and its ear tips,” says Dr. Jonas Watson of the Grant Park Animal Hospital. It seemed like it was likely a house pet that somehow escaped out the door and got caught in the cold. Someone brought the cat in when they saw it alone in the cold.

“It’s a real heartbreaker to see them trying to walk with their pads raw after peeling off (due to frostbite) and the cat in a lot of discomfort.”

Watson gave the cat antibiotics, pain-control medicine and anti-inflammatories.

Runway Success

What’s a pilot to do if they start to feel a bit peckish while flying the friendly skies of southern Manitoba?

Pilots of small aircraft know to look for a small, grassy landing strip at the northeast corner of Beausejour, where they can disembark just steps away from the Airliner Drive-In.

The popular destination embraces the airplane theme, with flight-related decor and menu items with names such as the Spitfire (a spicy burger), the Biplane (a Gimli pickerel burger) and the Avro Arrow (a sweet chili wrap with breaded pork).

Pilots taxi up to the restaurant almost daily — there might be 20 on a clear summer day, often swooping in to rendezvous with fellow flyers.

Peace of mind

There isn’t much you can do to safeguard yourself against a missed putt or an errant shot into the rough, but there is something you can do to protect yourself against lost or stolen golf equipment and other golf-related incidents.

The Golf Canada Incident Protection (GCIP) plan is available through Golf Canada, the governing body for golf in Canada, and its provincial partner associations including Golf Manitoba. It was first introduced in 2018 and is available to anyone who is a member of Golf Canada and most of its provincial partner associations and their member clubs. Public or non-club golfers can sign up for the program by joining Golf Canada or Golf Manitoba for $59.95 for 12 months.

Jared Ladobruk, executive director of Golf Manitoba, says the incident protection plan was established to provide an additional value to anyone who is part of the provincial or national membership programs.

The GCIP plan provides golfers with up to $6,000 in annual coverage. That includes up to $2,500 for damaged, lost or stolen golf clubs as well items such as range finders and golf watches. It also provides up to $1,0000 in window protection coverage should a stray shot hit a home or automobile window. In addition, it offers up to $2,500 in coverage in the event of a golf cart-related accident.

Mental health resource nurses play pivotal role in COVID care

Incorporating mental wellness supports into the development of care plans for personal care home residents in Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) has been a significant focus throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

These supports are thanks to a specialized group of mental health resource nurses (MHRNs) whose expertise in psychiatric and mental health services for long-term care residents, including those with cognitive disorders, has made a marked difference to the isolation experienced by residents during periods of visitor restrictions and limits placed on group activities and interactions.

The team, made up of 15 nurses distributed throughout the region, works under the leadership of Christine Miner, manager of mental health for PMH.

“The team has stepped up in so many ways, supporting residents during isolation and offering assistance to staff adapting to new ways of working in the pandemic,” says Miner, who is also a registered psychiatric nurse. “In many cases, they have also stepped into direct care roles to assist when their help was needed.”

Well equipped

Over the past two summers – which is to say during the COVID-19 pandemic – the game of golf enjoyed a renaissance.

Because it’s played outdoors – and lends itself to social distancing – scores of people took up the game anew or returned to playing after drifting away for one reason or another.

Suddenly, new golfers were looking for equipment, and those who hadn’t played for years ventured into the dark recesses of their basements or garages to find – and then dust off – their old clubs.

Not long after, realizing their equipment – whether it was Uncle John’s old set of 1978-vintage Walter Hagen’s or the clubs that had performed well back in 1999 (was it really that long ago?) – left something to be desired, they went looking for something better.

Delectable Desserts

A little indulgence has perhaps never seemed sweeter than during this tumultuous time.

For anyone looking to satisfy a sweet tooth, an impressive array of local businesses offer delectable desserts to savour.

At Decadence Chocolates, an artisan chocolate shop located at 70 Sherbrook St., owner Helen Staines specializes in creating small batches of treats.

“We have a very wide range of chocolate bars with about 26 different flavours. We have over 20 bonbons in our case, and we make our own caramels too,” she says.

Exploring the city

Winnipeg is full of vibrant neighbourhoods with no shortage of diversity, businesses and events.

Many people have been confined to their homes or neighbourhoods over the past few years but with warmer days, longer evenings and a great re-opening upon us, now is the perfect time to leave your burrow and explore the city.

The Exchange District BIZ and the West End BIZ are member-driven non-profits that provide a variety of services in their respective areas including business supports, community patrols, neighbourhood beautification, walking tours, outdoor concerts, festivals and markets — and both are excited about upcoming summer events and getting back to business.

Aurora Debreuil, marketing and communications co-ordinator for the West End BIZ, is thrilled about the growth she’s seen in the area over the past year. Some 55 new businesses have opened their doors in the West End. A great example of the variety the area offers is the breadth of businesses along Wall Street, ranging from industrial, manufacturing and warehousing to breweries, food producers, restaurants and more.

The Green Spot keeps growing

When Bernie Whetter started working at The Green Spot Home and Garden in Brandon, Man., in 2004, he had no idea he’d one day be running the place.

“My previous job had come to an end, I was 50 years old, and I thought, ‘Now, what am I going to do?’” he says.

He’d earned a degree in agriculture years before and decided to follow it up by going for an MBA. Needing a job while he attended school, he called The Green Spot and was told he could help in the nursery.

“I left a $90,000 a year job and got one for $9 an hour,” he says, laughing. “It was great, though. It was fulfilling work.”

Providing a solid foundation

Throughout their life together, there were few things more important to Alex and Peggy Colonello than the sport of golf.

On any given weekend you could usually find them on the links or organizing events at Elmhurst Golf & Country Club, where they were members from 1948 until their passing. They also mentored many of the province’s top juniors over the years and spent countless hours giving back to the sport as volunteers. In fact, Peggy was inducted into both the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame for her efforts on the provincial golf scene.

Although Alex (2003) and Peggy (2020) are both gone, their dedication to advancing the sport lives on. The Alex & Peggy Colonello Foundation was created in 2018 to support junior golf programming in the province. The foundation has committed $3 million to an endowment fund administered by Golf Manitoba that will support the next generation of golfers through grassroots initiatives and high-performance training.

The idea for the foundation, not surprisingly, came from Peggy herself. A few years ago she learned that many of the top young golfers in the province were skipping inter-provincial competitions because they couldn’t afford to travel to take part.

Calming COVID cuties

Have you spent a lot of time alone with your so-called COVID puppy or kitten during the strictest parts of the pandemic?

They became your closest companions while you worked from home with limited social interactions.

Now that you are going back to the office and inviting friends over, especially during the holidays, you may have to teach your pets to adjust.

“We are definitely seeing a lot of what we playfully call COVID puppies and kittens,” says Dr. Colleen Fisher of the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association, a mobile vet who specializes in animal behaviour services.

Lessons in teamwork:

Ryan Mabon was just one year into his role as a home-care nurse educator in Southern Health-Santé Sud when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, bringing with it many new protocols and procedures that he, like all health-care workers, needed to quickly learn.

For Mabon, not only did the pandemic mean a pivot back to learning at a time when he was beginning to feel “at home” in his new position, it also required him to move quickly and efficiently to ensure that new information was shared regularly and clearly with staff supporting home care in Southern Health-Santé Sud.

As a nurse educator, Mabon oversees the educational needs of 450 home-care staff, supports transitional care needs of clients and families, and contributes to policy and procedure development for the region. COVID-19 required many changes to where and how the education needs of staff were supported but made the sharing of information even more important.

“Most of the work I do with staff is hands-on and usually happens in a room, learning together, or through a series of meetings during the course of a week,” Mabon says. “Shifting to a virtual environment felt like learning a completely new role. My work became centred around evolving COVID-19 information so that I could share it with staff — and support them through the changes.”

The beauty of backyard birding

Meredith Stoesz, assistant manager of Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop, said bird feeding had already become one of the fastest-growing hobbies across North America — and then the pandemic boosted its popularity sky high.

“I believe many of us were able to slow down, take a deep breath and really appreciate the world around us during lockdown. It also provided a sense of calm when the rest of the world didn’t feel calm at all,” she said.

“Extra time spent outdoors meant more time connecting with the natural world. The really wonderful thing about bird feeding is it allows us to bring nature home and connect with the wild world right in our own backyard.”