Manitoba man fears his daughter will die on the streets due to lack of shelter space for women
More women are homeless than in the past and resources haven't kept pace, advocates say
A Manitoba father says the lack of resources and emergency shelter space specifically for women in Winnipeg is leaving people like his daughter at risk everyday — and he fears she will soon end up dead.
The man, who CBC News is not naming to protect his daughter's identity, said his daughter is homeless and addicted to meth and that he and his ex-wife have been unable to get their daughter the help she needs for the past seven years.
He said she often sleeps under bridges or in encampments and walks the streets because she doesn't feel safe using Winnipeg's shelter system.
"Just a sense of hopelessness," he said. "I feel very helpless. I feel like I'm being made to watch my daughter commit suicide. There's nothing I can do to help her and that's the hardest thing."
While most mid-to-large Canadian cities have at least one emergency shelter just for women, Winnipeg does not.
There are places that are specifically for women who have been trafficked or are leaving abusive relationships but there is no emergency overnight shelter just for females.
All of the overnight shelters are co-ed.
There were 418 people or 35.4 per cent of respondents in the Winnipeg Street Census 2022 who identified as being female.
'We should have somewhere safe for them to go that the women will feel safe. That they have no concerns to be there," he said. "We've seen people that get preyed on. You don't know why that guy is in the homeless shelter. He could be there just strictly as a predator looking for people."
In December, sources told CBC that alleged serial killer Jeremy Skibicki frequented soup kitchens and homeless shelters in Winnipeg's inner city, meeting women whom he would take home to his apartment.
"We unfortunately hear about women that get targeted, that are homeless, that are, you know, trying to go to some of these shelters that are are not meant for just women but are supposed to be safe spaces," he said.
In April, the dismembered remains of a woman - later identified as June Christine Johnson - were found near the Red River in Winnipeg's South Point Douglas neighbourhood. No one has been arrested in connection to her death.
It took a month for Johnson to be identified and the man said every time he hears about another woman who's been killed in the city, his heart sinks waiting to find out if it was his daughter.
"I just hope it's not my daughter. We're waiting for phone calls from the police to say that [they] found my daughter," he said. "But that's our biggest fear and that's kind of an expectation of what's coming next."
Co-ed spaces not safe, designed for men
Advocates said the death of Johnson is latest tragedy to reignite the dire need for more supports for women.
A recently released feasibility study into a search for the remains of two Indigenous women alleged to have been killed by Skibicki recently recommended more funding supports for homeless shelters.
St. Boniface Street Links executive director Marion Willis said those resources should be specifically targeted toward a women-only emergency shelter.
"We have a horrific lack of resources for women," Willis said. "When you think about what's really available out there, our entire shelter system has been built around men to meet the needs of a large male population," she said.
The Salvation Army's Centre of Hope, is the biggest emergency shelter in Winnipeg.
But like all emergency homeless shelters in Manitoba, the centre also takes in men. Sleeping quarters are separated by locked doors, but some common areas, like the dining hall, are co-ed.
Siloam Mission, Main Street Project and N'dinawemak also offer secure, female-only sleeping spaces, while common areas are shared.
"The message that's delivered to that woman [using the shelter] is that she doesn't matter," Willis said.
Velma's House, run by the Ka Ni Kanichihk Indigenous social services organization, provides women and gender-diverse people who identify as female culturally appropriate and trauma-informed services along with basic needs, assistance in finding permanent housing, financial guidance, employment counselling, skills training and help navigating the health-care system.
While a recent $7 million funding injection for Velma's House has allowed the service to move to a bigger location and to provide some overnight access, their focus is on daily resources.
Willis said the face of homelessness has changed in the last decade. She said while it used to be predominantly made up of Indigenous men, the demographics have changed and the resources available for people in that situation haven't kept up.
"I find it quite frightening to be honest. We've dealt with three women this week that desperately need to be somewhere safe and there is no safe place for them and they're out there and I worry that they [will] become the next statistics. There is no place for them to go."
Willis said the drug crisis happening in Winnipeg has changed the landscape. She said often women spiral into homelessness because of addiction and the number of women in that situation has escalated in recent years.
"We haven't really changed the way that we plan or serve people," she said. "Programs and services for women are hugely lacking in that demographical face of homelessness now."
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