Manitoba Liberals call for warming spaces for homeless, speedier access to social assistance

Emergency support is needed to keep Winnipeg's homeless population safe, such as creating 24-hour warming centres in community clubs that are empty due to the pandemic, Manitoba's Liberal Party says.

The party on Wednesday called for immediate action to improve services for people who are homeless or facing homelessness due to evictions and pandemic measures.

Manitobans should know that during the day, many people who are homeless have no place to go,Liberal health critic Jon Gerrardsaid in a news release.

"A recent video showed Winnipeg police moving people out of a bus shelter on Portage Avenue," Gerrard said.

"With pandemic closures, evictions and a growing number of people finding themselves out of work, the Manitoba government needs to act now to keep people safe and warm," he said.

"There are a few months of winter ahead of us, and we need to act now."

The party is urging the province to improve access to daytime warming spaces and to speed up the employment and income assistance process.

With the code red restrictions, the partysaid public places where people normally go to stay warm in the daytime are now closed.

Many public places closed

Instead of malls, libraries and community centres, homeless people are now gathering at bus shelters and in the lobbies of banks, where ATM machines are kept.

End Homelessness Winnipeg said they've seen more of this.

"I think that can be seen as a direct reflection of those types of spaces that individuals normally access are closed," said Kristiana Clemens, spokesperson for End Homelessness Winnipeg.

Ariel Grieves has been homeless before. Now, she's staying with her boyfriend.

But she says the pandemic hasn't given her much to do. She says she comes down to the bus shack on Portage and Memorial regularly to see her friends.

"I think they should open up the warming centres because ... people just don't deserve to be outside," said Grieves.

"I would rather spend time at a community centre knowing that I'm okay having a cup of coffee, reading a book is fine."

As for EIA, 90 per centof applicants should get assistance within 24 hours, butit can take weeks for people applying for provincial social assistanceto even get an appointment, the Liberals say.

The province said it has invested $3.5 million to expand shelter capacities.

WATCH |Manitoba Liberals want to seecommunity centres open for homeless people:

Manitoba Liberals want community centres used as warming spaces

4 years ago

Duration 1:45

Emergency support is needed to keep Winnipeg's homeless population safe, such as creating 24-hour warming centres in community clubs that are empty due to the pandemic, Manitoba's Liberal Party says.

Live updates on shelter space

The Liberals also want to see acentral web portal created to providelive updateson available resources for people who are homeless and looking for shelter or a place to stay warm.

"While people who are homeless do not have internet-enabled devices, the places that they visit do. People who are homeless, or facing homelessness, need help navigating where they can get help," the news release says.

"A virtual one-stop-shop would make the need and resources clear."

Gerrard blames Manitoba's patchwork effort to treat addictions as contributing to the homeless situation.

"What you have is a revolving door, so that time after time, you have people who get partway through it and then they drop back and they never get all the way through," he said.

The City of Winnipeg said it can't comment on the idea because it just heard about it today, but said it is in contact with End Homelessness Winnipeg.

The city said it is in contact with shelters often to identify needs and support the community as required.

Individuals struggling with substance use and abuse need to be referred to detox and rehab services, and the process of recovery is often derailed by gaps in treatment and support, Gerrardsaid.

Better mental health and addictions supports are required and the funds should be available under the $400-million Canada-Manitoba health accordfirst agreed to on Aug. 21, 2017, the Liberals say.

The crisis in homelessness is years in the making and the pandemic should be an opportunity to make permanent changes in the way the province handles poverty and homelessness, the news release says.

Arecent Campaign 2000 report showed that Manitoba is, once again, the child poverty capital of Canada, it says.

"There is a saying that a society should be judged by how we treat its most vulnerable people, and on that score, the Manitoba government's behaviour has been appalling," Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said.

"As a society, we have everything to gain and nothing to lose by treating people who are homeless with dignity."