Winnipeg mayor wants next mobile outreach contractors 'fully committed' to strategy to end homelessness

Cameron MacLean · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 7:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Organizations that person the city's adjacent declaration to supply mobile outreach services to radical surviving successful encampments should beryllium afloat committed to the provincial government's strategy to extremity homelessness, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says.

Teams of outreach workers funded by the city provide services to radical surviving successful encampments 24 hours a day. The city's existent declaration expires astatine the extremity of June.

A petition for proposals posted connected the city's website connected Thursday includes a request that proposals align with the province's Your Way Home strategy. 

"We're going to supply backing lone to those organizations who are afloat committed to and complying with the Your Way Home strategy," Gillingham told reporters connected Friday.

Under the Manitoba government's Your Way Home strategy, the state has begun purchasing lodging units, portion the metropolis funds outreach groups to link radical surviving connected the streets with supports.

Disagreements implicit however to get radical retired of camps and into lodging person emerged successful the past, with immoderate groups focusing connected lodging first, portion others enactment to enactment radical wherever they are.

This week, residents successful Point Douglas accused Main Street Project, a long-standing Winnipeg outreach agency, of helping to acceptable up a stateless campy successful Point Douglas. A missive outlining details of the incidental was copied to Gillingham's office.

In a transcript of a effect missive sent to CBC News, MSP enforcement manager Jamil Mahmood said it is moving with the state to get radical retired of encampments, but that enactment is "complex and nuanced," successful portion owed to a shortage of housing.

"There whitethorn beryllium antithetic philosophies, you know, erstwhile it comes to homelessness," Gillingham said. "We privation to marque definite that we are backing those agencies that are moving successful afloat confederation with and concern with the Province Manitoba strategy, and our strategy arsenic well."

Since 2022, the metropolis has contracted with MSP, St. Boniface Street Links and Resource Assistance for Youth to supply mobile outreach services.

Outreach idiosyncratic 'disheartened'

The enforcement manager of St. Boniface Street Links says they've cleared distant 26 encampments this year, galore of them from places on the eastbound slope of the Red River. Marion Willis says she supports the province's strategy, but she's not definite whether they'll use for the city's funding.

She says the program lacks an capable lodging supply, and backing for supports.

"I'm a small disheartened, I'm not going to lie," Willis said.

"None of america truly recognize the You Way Home plan. You know, if I'm to instrumentality that RFP (request for proposal) from the metropolis and I'm to align that with the provincial strategy to extremity homelessness, I'm not definite what that is."

Earlier this month, the state said it had rehoused 33 radical retired of tents and into lodging since February. 

Willis said the advancement has been slow.

"I benignant of consciousness similar the state successful the metropolis are some benignant of walking backmost connected the committedness to proactively get radical retired of encampments," she said.

Chris Brens, the city's manager of assemblage development, says the state plans to bash a important magnitude of enactment implicit the adjacent 7 years to trim homelessness. Part of that work, successful the archetypal year, is to make caller lodging spaces.

"The outreach work supplier enactment that the metropolis is going to beryllium backing would – if those lodging units are disposable – beryllium a cardinal constituent of gathering with folks who whitethorn beryllium surviving successful encampments, and supporting them into accessing that housing, if appropriate," Brens said successful an interview.

The city's declaration would past until 2027 and is budgeted for $1.65 million, with $275,000 going to wage the city's existing contractors until the extremity of June.