Main Street Project hits 50 years

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This article was published 04/01/2023 (985 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hitting five decades in operation stokes mixed emotions for current Main Street Project executive director Jamil Mahmood.

“Looking at everyone that’s come before me in this role and in the organization, the growth of the organization is astonishing. It’s also a little bit sad. Fifty years and we still have challenges with homelessness,” Mahmood said.

The organization took root largely due to the work of two men, beginning in 1972.

“It’s changed dramatically from when John Rodgers and Clay Lewis were out there doing it 50 years ago, picking up folks who were intoxicated and bringing them back to the shelter, to what we do now with a more modern outreach team with a case manager attached and other supports,” Mahmood said.

Mahmood said looking back, one of the biggest and most ever-present challenges was a lack of money. Funds coming in to the organization always paled in comparison to the enormity and pervasiveness of homelessness in Winnipeg, he said. The city is still far from finding solutions to its homelessness crisis.

For the two years that Mahmood has served as executive director, Main Street Project has been full every night. In the winter, when temperatures dip below -20, the shelter often has more people than beds, with people warming in the lobby or waiting to be found a bed at another shelter.

However, Mahmood said there’s some hope on the horizon. On Oct. 31, 2022, the province announced a $9 million increase in its annual funding to shelters, transitional housing services and homeless outreach mentors, from $6.1 million to $15.1 million.

Besides that increase, which Mahmood called an “unprecedented investment,” the Main Street Project leader said he’s pleased to see the conversation around homelessness begin to change.

“We’re glad that there’s an acknowledgment that the only solution to homelessness is housing, and without developing new housing and being able to transition folks from an emergency shelter to transitional or supportive housing, we’re not going to be able to solve homelessness in our city,” he said.

Mahmood credited the longevity of the organization to his staff and volunteers.

“I’m in awe every day in this work … The people who work here at Main Street Project go above and beyond for the folks in our community. They’re the people that care about them. They’re the people that help them get access to service. They’re the people that advocate for them tirelessly,” he said.

He added that many of those workers and volunteers are people who once used the services of Main Street Project, now back to pay it forward.

Mahmood said despite all the negative outcomes of the pandemic, there is one positive he could draw, which he said should help Main Street Project and other similar organizations better help their communities.

With the need to adapt to ever-changing circumstances, non-profits in the sector were forced to work together more closely to try to meet the needs of Winnipeggers.

“We’ve really formed tables that are more collaborative than ever, and that’s super important,” he said.

Main Street Project held a celebration for its semi-centennial in December at Thunderbird House.