Homeless shelters get $760K boost from Manitoba government

The province of Manitoba is opening its wallet to expand supports for vulnerable people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"These investments will help ensure trusted community-based organizations can extend or expand their supports, so everyone has a safe place when they need it," Families Minister Heather Stefanson said in a news release.

Most of the money will help three Winnipeg shelters:

• $135,000 will go to expanded capacity at Main Street Project's location on Disraeli Street in Winnipeg for the next three months, providing space for 180 beds every night.
• $242,000 will be used to continue the operation of a 39-bed shelter that is set up inside a vacant Manitoba Housing apartment building on Sargent Avenue. It was created in April for homeless individuals who needed to self-isolate due to COVID-19.
• $360,000 is going toward operations of the Salvation Army's Winnipeg Centre of Hope. A need to decrease its capacity to meet physical distancing requirements has resulted in financial challenges, the government release says.

"We are very grateful to live in a province that has taken a well-planned approach to limiting the spread of the virus," said Major Gordon Taylor, Centre of Hope's executive director.

"There has been a tremendous sense of co-operation among various agencies and levels of government that has made it possible to meet unique needs and numerous challenges."

The centre, at Henry Avenue and Martha Street, includes a residential mental health program, transitional housing for individuals who have been released from a correctional facility, emergency shelter beds and a number of on-site programs to support people toward independence and stability.

The funding also includes one month of operational costs — $22,000 previously announced — to support Samaritan House Ministries' Safe and Warm Shelter in Brandon.

The 10-bed emergency shelter typically is open only in the winter months but provincial support has helped it continue to serve vulnerable clients throughout the summer.