Residents of 5 downtown Winnipeg encampments moved into housing units, province says

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 20, 2025 2:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 7 minutes ago

About a twelve radical surviving astatine 5 downtown Winnipeg encampments person been moved into lodging units, aft the motorboat of a plan to extremity chronic homelessness, Manitoba's lodging curate says.

Late past year, Premier Wab Kinew said his authorities would commencement moving radical retired of structure encampments and into caller lodging units, clearing 1 encampment astatine a time.

The program outlines a strategy Kinew described arsenic being like a ladder, with people gradually moving from basic structure to lodging successful the backstage rental market.

Bernadette Smith, Manitoba curate for housing, addictions and homelessness, said successful an interrogation connected Wednesday that dozens of people, including partners from section outreach organizations similar Main Street Project and Siloam Mission, person been going encampment to encampment for the past six weeks, building relationships with those surviving astatine 5 downtown Winnipeg sites. 

So far, the state has lone recovered a fewer radical surviving successful each encampment, and erstwhile each occupants from 1 tract were housed, metropolis crews were brought successful to wide up the site, Smith said.

"I thought it would instrumentality a batch longer to benignant of get folks into housing, but it's beauteous astonishing to spot radical get into housing, get [the] enactment that they need," Smith told CBC. 

About a twelve radical person been moved from tents into apartments purchased by the authorities successful concern with organizations arsenic they person go available, the curate said.

Manitoba is besides offering wrap-around enactment to those being housed, which Smith said is intended to help stabilize them and yet assistance them participate the workforce.

"Some of these folks person not been housed for a precise agelong time," Smith said. "They've each been receptive. We haven't had immoderate absorption due to the fact that we've been capable to connection folks housing."

One of the biggest barriers truthful acold to dismantling the encampments has been uncovering lodging that besides supports the needs of radical successful the encampments.

"We person to marque definite that we person the close benignant of lodging available, with the close kinds of supports to enactment the folks successful the encampments," Smith said. 

As units go available, the state volition proceed to determination radical retired of encampments, with Smith saying another 40 are expected to unfastened up in the adjacent weeks.