A serial killer targeted vulnerable women in Winnipeg. What's changed at shelters since then?

Three years aft convicted serial slayer Jeremy Skibicki targeted 4 susceptible First Nations women, it's unclear what interaction the lawsuit has had connected information protocols astatine immoderate of Winnipeg's biggest shelters.  

Skibicki was recovered blameworthy past July of 4 counts of first-degree execution for the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and an chartless unfortunate who has since been identified arsenic Ashlee Shingoose. 

During the trial, tribunal heard Skibicki targeted susceptible women who frequented stateless shelters. 

During his hours-long constabulary interrogation, Skibicki told constabulary helium met Contois connected the bus, helium archetypal met Harris years earlier astatine Siloam Mission, helium met Shingoose extracurricular the Salvation Army and he met Myran successful a backmost lane betwixt Siloam and the Salvation Army. 

Skibicki said helium utilized immoderate shelters for meals. 

In court, a structure idiosyncratic testified Skibicki erstwhile told him "he had his ain place. He was conscionable determination to stalk his victims."

CBC reached retired to Siloam Mission, Salvation Army, Main Street Project and N'Dinawemak — Our Relatives' Place to inquire if this lawsuit led to immoderate changes successful structure operations and information protocols.

Only N'Dinawemak executive manager Frank Parkes agreed to an interview.   

"That's a truly hard subject, and I deliberation it volition beryllium a hard taxable for a agelong clip for our assemblage to talk about, due to the fact that we still, you know, are dealing each time with the calamity of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls," Parkes said. 

Video grounds from wrong N'Dinawemak astatine 190 Disraeli Freeway released during the proceedings shows Harris with Skibicki. That's where the unit subordinate said helium had heard Skibicki marque that chilling comment. 

Several agencies initially partnered to tally the structure arsenic an exigency effect to the acold upwind successful 2021, but Parkes said present N'Dinawemak is operated arsenic 1 organization.

"It was truly conscionable a mode of making definite that 1 enactment had work for each of the aspects of the shelter," said Parkes, who took connected his relation little than 2 years ago, aft the women were murdered.

He thinks the mode it runs now helps to streamline connection if a perchance unsafe contented emerges. 

"We tin pass from idiosyncratic who sees a problem, you cognize … retired successful the communal space, and past get that accusation up into, you know, enactment and radical that tin really enactment connected that accusation and analyse it and study it, truthful that has changed for sure," Parkes said.

The Indigenous-led structure works to prosecute radical who are Indigenous and who have lived experience, Parkes said. That plays a relation successful however the structure thinks astir the contented of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and however they marque decisions astatine the shelter, helium said. 

"When you absorption connected hiring wrong the Indigenous assemblage and you look astatine things done an Indigenous lens, past the full communicative of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls becomes a portion of however we marque our decisions going forward, and truthful we benignant of internalize it present due to the fact that of our beliefs and our backgrounds and our shared experiences," Parkes said. 

"We're good alert that, you know, determination are predators retired there, and determination are radical that are exploiting women and girls."

In effect to the situation of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, Parkes would like to found a effect squad at N'Dinawemak to link with those who are vulnerable. Over the past year, they've looked astatine ways they could bash that, helium said. 

Right now, the structure is focused on transitional housing and however they tin enactment to move radical utilizing shelters into housing, helium said.

While the different 3 shelters contacted by CBC declined an interview, a associated connection from those shelters arsenic good arsenic 1JustCity was provided done End Homelessness Winnipeg.

WATCH | Melissa Robinson talks astir the request for much harmless spaces for susceptible women:

The connection said, successful part, the organizations "regularly review, update and fortify protocols," but they couldn't disclose circumstantial information measures due to the fact that of privacy, information and the delicate quality of structure operations.

It besides said the representation of the 4 women "continues to compel our assemblage toward greater enactment and accountability."

"Our corporate precedence remains the safety, dignity and well-being" of radical who usage their services, the connection said. It besides said galore organizations person "enhanced gender-specific accommodations" and "introduced much responsive intake practices" and improved co-ordination among shelters.

More harmless options

Morgan Harris's relative Melissa Robinson says there inactive aren't capable harmless spaces for susceptible women and Winnipeg needs emergency shelters exclusively for women.

"I consciousness similar my relative whitethorn inactive beryllium around, you know, close now, if that enactment was there," Robinson said. "She was preyed upon. Those different women were preyed upon, you know. How galore much men retired determination are reasoning that aforesaid thing?"

Robinson co-founded Morgan's Warriors, named for her relative and aimed astatine helping different susceptible people. 

The squad Robinson works with has taken women to Velma's House, which is simply a harmless abstraction for women, but abstraction determination tin beryllium limited, she said.

Willow Place and Ikwe Widdjiitiwin connection women-only shelters, but their absorption is connected radical fleeing violence, an End Homelessness Winnipeg spokesperson said. N'Dinawemak, Siloam Mission, Main Street Project and the Salvation Army run areas wrong their facilities reserved for women, the spokesperson said. 

Robinson would similar to spot exigency shelters for women successful respective areas of the city. 

"Put 1 successful the halfway area, enactment 1 present successful the North End, enactment one, you know, possibly successful the West Broadway area, truthful you benignant of person them spaced out," she said. 

A provincial spokesperson said the state accrued backing rates for shelters, transitional lodging services and stateless outreach mentors successful October 2022. That summation included a 15 per cent top-up for information and information measures, the spokesperson said.

Manitoba Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith said her bureau is focused connected getting radical into housing with wraparound support. 

There are lodging units earmarked for women, Smith said. 

"We cognize that homelessness is simply a real, you know, situation for a batch of folks successful this province, and it puts them astatine a disadvantage, arsenic we've, you know, discovered with a batch of folks who are successful shelter. They are unsafe astatine times," she said.

At a quality league earlier this month, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine announced a caller specialized squad volition enactment with the Downtown Community Safety Partnership to assistance conscionable the needs of Indigenous women and girls. 

Fontaine said it's portion of a four-year MMIWG2S+ provincial strategy named Mino'Ayaawag Ikwewag.

When Fontaine was asked astatine the quality league astir calls for women's shelters and however that could subordinate to the caller specialized teams, she hinted that portion of the province's strategy includes looking astatine the structure system.

"There hasn't been a important summation successful ensuring that that infrastructure is up to day and modernized and gathering the needs of community," Fontaine said.

"That's a cardinal portion of the enactment that we're doing successful Mino'Ayaawag Ikwewag, and it volition beryllium joined perfectly with the enactment that these folks, these astonishing women are doing connected the streets."