City looks at funding shelter’s outreach van

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This article was published 26/02/2021 (1873 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A city councillor wants to free up municipal cash and secure provincial funds to keep a downtown outreach van running 24-7.

Coun. Sherri Rollins said Main Street Project uses the van to meet the critical needs of unsheltered Winnipeggers, which include providing warm clothing and food, or giving rides to emergency shelters.

“During the pandemic, we’ve had a number of displaced persons on city streets… The van’s response is really vital to serving Winnipeggers and responding to the needs of Winnipeggers who are sleeping rough,” said Rollins.

The motion notes that MSP expects its funding will run out after March 31, creating an urgent need for cash to cover its daytime and evening shifts.

Rollins’ motion, which was slated for referral to council’s executive policy committee, calls for city staff to report on municipal funding options for the service. It also calls for the options to include a “requirement that any city funding be matched by the Province of Manitoba.”

Jamil Mahmood, executive director of the Main Street Project, said his organization can still cover the van for overnight outreach but other shifts are uncertain once one of its federal grants runs out.

Mahmood said the organization needs about $400,000 more to ensure the van can operate around-the-clock for the rest of 2021. While MSP also plans to seek federal and provincial support, it approached the city for help first, since it provides services that directly support the civic government, he said.

“We provide a number of major transports, voluntary transports for folks. We free up fire and ambulance and police regularly with this service and then also (do) wellness checks this past year during cold weather,” said Mahmood.

“People are in situations where they are potentially at risk all the time so we need to be there all the time as well,” he added.

The province did not indicate Rollins’ call to require matching provincial funds would be granted.

In an email, Families Minister Rochelle Squires, who is responsible for housing, promised to “encourage the federal government to recognize the ongoing needs of vulnerable people during the pandemic, and to extend its funding to meet these needs.”

Squires noted the province has joined Manitoba Housing and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority to provide more than $7.4 million for other recent Main Street Project initiatives.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga