'Hopefully, this will become a home': Construction to begin on housing-first project in Winnipeg
Construction is set to begin this week on a new housing project in Winnipeg's Centennial neighbourhood to give those experiencing homelessness a safe place to call home.
The project, going up at 390 Ross Avenue, will operate on a housing-first model. The province said this means sobriety will not be a requirement for residents to be able to move in, though there will be supports available for those recovering from addictions.
"When we look at what is going on in our city, there are lots of initiatives going on to support people at risk of homelessness, but I think the one thing we are not doing enough of is building homes," said John Pollard, whose family started Home First Winnipeg, a non-profit charity that will be operating the building.
"Hopefully, this will become a home."
The space will include 47-micro-suite apartments, and will include a commercial kitchen, common dining area, living room, game room and TV area, and an area for Indigenous cultural activities.
"This project is really about housing," Pollard said. "Mostly we just want to provide a safe place for people to live."
Manitoba Families Minister Rochelle Squires said she recognizes that housing and homelessness are a serious challenge in the City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba.
"One of the things that we've found is that we can't just provide the keys in all cases and expect the new tenant to be successful in their transition into their new home," she said. "There needs to be a suite of initiatives and wraparound support."
Knowledge Keeper Jaime Grasby held a pipe ceremony at the site Monday and prayed for the safety of the construction crews and people in the area, and for the project.
Grasby said she has been working in the community and has seen the need for this kind of space.
"You don't just magically learn how to live on your own. It takes practice, it takes a few tries sometimes for some people. To have that considered, or to have a support system available within easy reach is very important," she said.
The project was first announced in May, and is expected to cost $8 million. It is scheduled to be completed by the fall of 2022.
The province is chipping in $1.1 million through the Canada-Manitoba Housing Agreement under the National Housing Strategy. The Pollard family is putting in $4.4 million through donations and fundraising. The City of Winnipeg is providing a $100,000 capital grant and another $800,000 is coming from a capital investment through the Shared Health Priorities Bilateral Agreement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6946509.1719687583!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
Who are the richest people in Canada? Here's how many billionaires there are
If you gathered all the wealth that billionaires currently have worldwide, you would have about US$14.2 trillion, according to Forbes Magazine. But what about in Canada alone?
'7 years of regret': Raunchy leg piece wins bad tattoo competition at Edmonton Expo Centre
Friday night was a celebration of mistakes for a small group of body art enthusiasts.
U.S. and Europe warn Lebanon's Hezbollah to ease strikes on Israel and back off from wider Mideast war
U.S., European and Arab mediators are pressing to keep stepped-up cross-border attacks between Israel and Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah militants from spiraling into a wider Middle East war that the world has feared for months. Iran and Israel traded threats Saturday of what Iran said would be an 'obliterating" war over Hezbollah.
A year ago, she drank battery acid to escape life under the Taliban. Today, she has a message for other Afghan girls
Holding a mirror steady in one hand, Arzo carefully applies pencil to her brows as she gets ready for an English lesson a short walk from her home on the outskirts of Pakistani megacity Karachi.
Lightning deal Sergachev, Jeannot; Maple Leafs acquire Tanev's rights at NHL draft
General managers wheeled and dealed Saturday in Sin City.
Arizona man gets life sentence on murder conviction in starvation death of 6-year-old son
A northern Arizona man has been sentenced to prison for the rest of his life on convictions including first-degree murder in the 2020 starvation death of his six-year-old son, according to court proceedings.
Health Canada recalls brand of sunscreen product due to potential fungal contamination
Double check your sunscreen products before lathering up this long weekend, as Health Canada has recalled several lots across the country.
Beryl strengthens into a hurricane in the Atlantic, forecast to become a major storm
Beryl strengthened into a hurricane on Saturday as it churned toward the southeast Caribbean, with forecasters warning it was expected to become a dangerous and major storm before reaching Barbados late Sunday or early Monday.
Despair in the air: For many voters, the Biden-Trump debate means a tough choice just got tougher
The sound you might have heard after the presidential debate this past week was of voters falling between a rock and a hard place.