Provincial plans for social service hub stir both hope and concern in downtown Brandon

Chelsea Kemp · CBC News

· Posted: May 04, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Manitoba Housing is exploring plans to alteration a long-vacant seniors' centre successful downtown Brandon, Man., into a societal services hub.

But arsenic the state gathers assemblage input, tensions are rising betwixt those who spot the imaginable hub arsenic a lifeline for susceptible residents and others who fearfulness it could undermine ongoing efforts to revitalize the core successful the metropolis of 54,000.

Lisa Vasconcelos, who owns the Mecca Productions Theatre and Performing Arts Centre, worries turning the vacant abstraction at 241 Eighth Street into a work enactment centre volition stymie that revitalization.

Her theatre studio, located a mates of blocks from the centre, offers classes to hundreds of children each week, and she's acrophobic a enactment hub volition make issues successful the halfway that volition negatively impact them.

 "I'm 100 per cent supportive of providing enactment services to radical who request them," Vasconcelos said. "[But] I don't judge … that each of the supports request to beryllium focused and situated successful downtown Brandon."

Mecca Productions utilized to execute concerts successful the parkland located crossed from the seniors' centre, but it nary longer feels harmless to bash truthful due to the fact that determination are encampments and a batch of garbage successful the area, said Vasconcelos. She's disquieted a services hub volition substance these issues.

The state said it has been gathering with Manitoba Housing tenants, unit and different assemblage members to spot however the abstraction tin champion service the neighbourhood, including aged residents of the neighbouring Lawson Lodge.

A provincial spokesperson says their feedback is being utilized to find however to champion usage the 6,400-square-foot abstraction arsenic a societal services hub, including what services should beryllium offered.

Creating a assemblage space

Janis Irvine, a co-ordinator with Community Mobilization Westman — a web of societal work providers — says the societal services hub could beryllium a affirmative assemblage gathering spot to help people, from children to seniors, unrecorded harmless and healthy lives.

Her organization, which works with 15 societal services agencies to supply a scope of care to high-risk and susceptible assemblage members, knows wherever gaps successful work are successful the city, she said.

The projected hub could be a spot to code issues similar nutrient security and harmless and affordable housing, helping families and individuals, said Irvine.

"We're truly acceptable to determination guardant with immoderate solutions," she said.

She besides said having respective agencies located nether 1 extortion could connection amended work portion ensuring organizations are not overwhelmed.

When idiosyncratic visits an bureau seeking support, different underlying needs often surface, she said. A shared determination allows agencies to respond much rapidly and link radical with the assistance they need. 

"It's the quality aspect, it's the energy, it's the creativity, it's the ideas," said Irvine.

"Many of america are looking astatine this from tons of antithetic vantage points, and to stock those vantage points unneurotic truthful that we person a collaborative, holistic program for caring for our community."

Supports for seniors and children needed

Meanwhile, the Brandon Downtown Business Improvement Zone says determination are a batch of conflicting views astir what champion suits the vacant space. BIZ enforcement manager Emmy Sanderson says businesses successful the halfway are acrophobic a hub could wounded their downtown revitalization efforts.

"We'd similar to spot thing going successful determination that fits with that vibrancy … and the imaginativeness of a welcoming, vibrant, active, harmless downtown," Sanderson said.

"Everybody I talk to wants the aforesaid imaginativeness successful the end, wants the aforesaid result. We each privation a healthy, safe, cleanable downtown. Where sometimes there's a small spot of differing opinions is, however bash we get there?"

She worries that by focusing connected the astir susceptible downtown residents, the hub could provender into challenges related to addiction and unit successful the district. Depending connected who's visiting the centre, it could make accrued information challenges oregon fears for radical coming to the core, she said.

The BIZ is besides moving with Brandon Police to assistance make a information strategy for the downtown core.

Vasconcelos said she wants to spot the abstraction focused connected seniors oregon providing further time attraction services successful the core.

She worries their needs are being overshadowed.

"There needs to beryllium a existent determination towards revitalizing downtown Brandon and not conscionable making it a spot wherever radical tin entree supports," she said.

An look of involvement is expected soon, inviting agencies to use for abstraction successful the projected hub.