Winnipeg's downtown safety partnership unveils special Indigenous women's unit

CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 3:26 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 minutes ago

Winnipeg's six-year-old Downtown Community Safety Partnership is present expanding with the instauration of a peculiar portion focused connected moving with Indigenous women, girls and two-spirit individuals connected the city's streets.

Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine on Thursday introduced the unit, which is made up wholly of Indigenous women.

"I can't accent however breathtaking this is," Fontaine said, calling it a unique radical successful the country.

"It's truly important that erstwhile we're moving with immoderate of the astir vulnerable, marginalized citizens of Manitoba that they tin spot themselves reflected successful the folks that are offering that support."

The DCSP began arsenic a aviator task successful 2019 and was made imperishable a twelvemonth later. A collaboration between the City of Winnipeg, True North Sports and Entertainment, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, Winnipeg police and different stakeholders, it provides social and wellness services.

That includes 24/7 enactment and non-emergency responses, arsenic good arsenic prevention and outreach for radical connected the thoroughfare and those struggling with addictions and intelligence wellness issues.

Standing successful beforehand of respective of the caller members astatine the DCSP bureau connected Hargrave Street, Fontaine said they were trained a portion agone and person already been investigating their chops connected the job.

Eight paid unit volition beryllium portion of the caller unit.

On apical of the training, "it is beingness acquisition that I bring," said C.J. Spence, 1 of the caller members.

She's been progressive successful assorted ways with the societal services strategy for 20 years.

"So I bring each of my experiences with me, and I anticipation to stock my stories," Spence said.

"Everybody deserves to beryllium harmless erstwhile they travel and sojourn downtown," said Fontaine, adding that besides goes for those who unrecorded and enactment successful the area.

"This caller specialized portion volition lend to that information connected the streets successful general, but besides of the Indigenous women, girls and two-spirited individuals."

The portion was given $350,000 to motorboat and volition person yearly funding, though Fontaine couldn't accidental yet however overmuch that would be.

The archetypal amount comes halfway done the twelvemonth and besides covered the acquisition of a caller vehicle, arsenic good as clothing.

"So we'll have to find the last yearly numbers," Fontaine said, adding the wealth comes from Mino'Ayaawag Ikwewag, a four-year strategy created successful November.

That strategy includes $20 cardinal to make "a web of supports" for Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit and gender-diverse Manitobans successful an effort to forestall future MMIWG2S+ cases.

"There's an overwhelming request for this," said Greg Burnett, the enforcement manager of the downtown information partnership.

"We get calls each time wrong the community — from the assemblage itself and from outer partners who truly privation to prosecute with this squad and instrumentality better, much due attraction of Indigenous women retired connected the streets."