January 20, 2021

Winnipeg
1° C, Overcast

Full Forecast

Contact Us Subscribe Manage Subscription Chat with us
Log in Create Free Account Help Chat with us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertising Contact
    • Submit a News Tip
    • Subscribe to Newsletters

    • Finding your
      information

    • My Account
    • Manage my Subscription
    • Change Password

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate

    • Log Out
    • Log in
    • Create Free Account
    • Help

    • Grid View
    • List View
    • Compact View
    • Text Size
    • Translate
  • Coronavirus Coverage
  • Replica E-Edition
    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times
  • Above the Fold
  • Front page
  • Arts & Life
    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Book Club
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Canada
  • Local
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • World
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Archives
  • Canstar Community News
    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Classifieds
  • Contests
  • Coupons
    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • Sponsored
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Articles
  • Flyers
  • Homes
    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Newsletters
  • Obituaries
  • Puzzles
  • Photostore
  • More

©2021 FP Newspaper Inc.

Close
  • Quick Links

    • Coronavirus Coverage
    • Above the Fold
    • Home
    • Local
    • Canada
    • World
    • Classifieds
    • Special Coverage
    • Flyers
    • Newsletters
    • Obituaries
    • Photostore
    • Archives
    • Contests
    • Publications
    • Sponsored Content
    • Privacy Policy

    Ways to support us

    • Pay it Forward program
    • Subscribe
    • Day Pass
    • Read Now Pay later
  • Replica E-Edition

    • About the E-Edition
    • Winnipeg Free Press
    • The Herald
    • The Headliner
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'Wester
    • The Times

    Business

    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Personal Finance
  • Arts & Life

    • All Arts & Life
    • The Arts
    • Autos
    • Books
    • Cannabis
    • Celebrities
    • Diversions
    • Puzzles
    • Environment
    • Events
    • Faith
    • Food & Drink
    • Your Health
    • Life & Style
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Science & Technology
    • TV
    • Travel
  • Sports

    • All Sports
    • Amateur
    • Auto Racing
    • Blue Bombers
    • Curling
    • Football
    • Goldeyes
    • Golf
    • High School
    • Hockey
    • Horse Racing
    • Winnipeg Jets
    • Manitoba Moose
    • WHL
    • MLB
    • NBA
    • Olympics
    • Soccer
  • Opinion

    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Columnists
    • Editorials
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Send a Letter to the Editor

    Media

    • All Media
    • Photo Galleries
    • Videos

    Homes

    • Property Listings
    • Featured News
    • Renovation and design
    • New homes
    • Resale homes
  • Canstar Community News

    • All Canstar Community News
    • The Headliner
    • The Herald
    • The Lance
    • The Metro
    • The Sou'wester
    • The Times
    • Sports
    • Events
    • Contact Us
    • E-Editions
  • Coupons

    • All Coupons
    • Staples Copy & Print Coupons
    • Ripley's Aquariums Coupons
    • The Bay Coupons
    • Staples Canada Coupons
    • Altitude Sports Coupons
    • Nike Coupons
    • Tuango Coupons
    • Ebay Canada Coupons
    • Sport Chek Coupons
    • Roots Coupons
  • About Us

    • About Us
    • Advertising
    • Contact Us
    • Carrier Positions & Retailer Requests
    • FP Newspapers Inc.
    • History
    • Internships
    • Job Opportunities
    • News Café
    • Privacy Policy
    • Retail Locations
    • Staff Biographies
    • Terms and Conditions
Winnipeg Free Press

ABOVE THE FOLD

Subscribe
Articles Read Your Balance +tax

Voices for impoverished get city to leave makeshift shelters, work for long-term solution

By: Ben Waldman | Posted: 06/25/2019 7:00 PM

Scroll
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/6/2019 (574 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amid intense criticism from local anti-poverty and homelessness advocacy groups, the city has cancelled a request for proposals that would result in the removal of temporary shelters set up by Winnipeggers living on the streets.

"I’m feeling very excited," said Mama Bear Clan co-ordinator Alexa Legere, a vocal opponent to the city's RFP. "It opens doors for so many more opportunities to help these people instead of sweeping them under the rug."

Legere and representatives from End Homeless Winnipeg and Make Poverty History Manitoba met Tuesday with Mayor Brian Bowman and members of the Winnipeg Police Service to discuss the RFP, made public last month, seeking to engage a company for "the collection and disposal of bulky waste from temporary homeless shelters on public property."

A woman sleeps under a blanket in a backlane in Winnipeg. The shelters are often little more than propped-up tarps providing minimal protection from the elements.

JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

A woman sleeps under a blanket in a backlane in Winnipeg. The shelters are often little more than propped-up tarps providing minimal protection from the elements.

The request met with significant opposition from front-line workers and advocacy groups. Many, including Legere, who requested the meeting with the mayor, felt it was short-sighted and its terms dehumanizing. A petition calling for its cancellation received hundreds of signatures, and dozens of local organizations and advocacy groups put their names on an open letter.

Last week Legere, who does direct outreach with homeless people in Point Douglas and the downtown core, said the RFP, essentially, equated the individuals in the camps with the "bulky waste" the city sought to remove. She told the Free Press the request stood only to displace homeless individuals and to make their lives more difficult than they already are.

"There is nothing more traumatizing than having your possessions and shelter taken from you," she said.

The makeshift shelters have appeared in parks, church yards and along the city's riverbanks, among other locations. They're often little more than propped-up tarps providing minimal protection from the elements.

Adrienne Dudek, director of supportive and transitional housing for the Main Street Project, called the cancellation of the city's RFP “a starting point.”

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Adrienne Dudek, director of supportive and transitional housing for the Main Street Project, called the cancellation of the city's RFP “a starting point.”

Bowman said he appreciated hearing from the opposition.

"I want to thank them," he said. "They came forward with concerns advocating on behalf of a number of people in our community, and the meeting was (held) primarily to listen to those concerns."

Connecting people living in the temporary shelters with helping agencies is a priority, he said, adding the city will be working collaboratively under the leadership of End Homelessness Winnipeg to find a more appropriate solution.

"It all could have been avoided," said Al Wiebe, chair of the Lived Experience Circle and a representative of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. "(This meeting) with the people dealing with this on a day-to-day basis should have been held at the start."

Makeshift shelters have appeared in parks, church yards and along the city's riverbanks, among other locations.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES

Makeshift shelters have appeared in parks, church yards and along the city's riverbanks, among other locations.

Pulling the plug on the plan is a positive development, but request for proposals shouldn't have been issued in the first place and "showed a lack of empathy from the people who put it together," he said.

Stay informed

The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19.

Subscribe to COVID-19 Briefing
Sign Up

"It’s not a great idea to not talk to stakeholders immediately," he added.

Bowman said people in the city's public works department participated in Tuesday's meeting.

"They heard the concerns and, I think, they took them to heart," he said.

Linda Truro, the community minister for West Broadway Ministries, said she’s cautiously optimistic about the decision, adding that advocacy organizations need to "keep going" to provide support, security and income-geared housing to people on the streets.

Adrienne Dudek, the director of supportive and transitional housing for the Main Street Project, which also opposed the RFP, called its cancellation "a starting point."

"I think it’s huge the city came to the table with a willingness to listen and reverse its decision, which they could have easily not done," she said. "I think this shows what grassroots organizations can do to create a collective impact."

Ben Waldman

Ben Waldman
Reporter

Ben Waldman covers a little bit of everything for the Free Press.

   Read full biography

  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Print
  • Email
  • Report Error
  • Submit a Tip
  • Refund

The Winnipeg Free Press invites you to share your opinion on this story in a letter to the editor. A selection of letters to the editor are published daily.

To submit a letter:
• fill out the form on this page, or
• email letters@freepress.mb.ca, or
• mail Letters to the Editor, 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2X 3B6.

Letters must include the writer’s full name, address, and a daytime phone number. Letters are edited for length and clarity.

Top