Siloam Mission launches housing strategy, aims to solve chronic homelessness in Winnipeg
A Winnipeg-based non-profit organization is hoping to tackle chronic homelessness in the city with a newly launched housing strategy.
Siloam Mission said its goal is to create between 700 and 1,000 housing units over the next 10 years to provide more shelter for vulnerable people.
“A lot of people think about homelessness as something that happens to an individual and are looking for individual solutions,” said Siloam Mission CEO Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud. “But at a systems level, most homelessness is caused by a lack of affordable and supportive housing options.”
While Blaikie Whitecloud called the target ambitious, she said it’s possible.
“We’re not going to solve homelessness in Winnipeg without being ambitious,” she said. “We might fall short in 10 years, we might over-deliver in 10 years; I think that there are enough Winnipeggers that want to see a solution to homelessness.”
Currently, Siloam Mission operates 137 housing units around Winnipeg, in addition to its shelter space and drop-in facility in the Exchange District.
According to Blaikie Whitecloud, if Siloam Mission reaches or surpasses its goal of building 1,000 units, the spaces will be able to house around 25 per cent of Winnipeg’s homeless population.
But the new project comes with a hefty price tag. Blaikie Whitecloud estimated each unit will cost between $150,000 and $250,000 to create, but said the investment will pay off.
“We know that there will be so many savings,” she said. “There'll be savings in our health care system when people are housed adequately and can recover or prevent health issues by having housing. There'll be savings in police and ambulance calls. There'll be savings in social systems.”
In order to reach its goal, Siloam Mission said it’s also looking to partner with organizations like True North Sports and Entertainment, as well as the provincial and municipal governments.
The organization said it will also work with the community it serves to develop housing units that best fit their needs.
“What I hope the community members who get to live in that housing after feel is that they were heard,” said Blaikie Whitecloud. “That housing was built for them with them in mind, by their leadership with dignity, so that they can thrive and then in return contribute to society.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE AT 2:30 2-hour wildfire evacuation notice issued for some Fort McMurray neighbourhoods
A wildfire evacuation alert for some Fort McMurray residents has been updated to a two-hour evacuation notice.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.
Alice Munro, Nobel literature winner revered as short story master, dead at 92
Nobel laureate Alice Munro, the Canadian literary giant who became one of the world's most esteemed contemporary authors and one of history's most honoured short story writers, has died at age 92.
Latest updates on air quality alerts, and when the smoke may reach Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires have led Environment Canada to issue air quality advisories for parts of B.C., Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories, as forecasters warn the smoke could drift farther east.
American sought after 'So I raped you' Facebook message detained in France on 2021 warrant
An American accused of sexually assaulting a Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sending her a Facebook message that said, 'So I raped you,' has been detained in France after a three-year search.
Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
1 killed, 3 injured in head-on crash on Hwy. 417 in Ottawa
Ontario Provincial Police are responding to a fatal collision involving two vehicles on Highway 417 in Ottawa's west end on Tuesday morning.
Protesters gather at Ottawa City Hall after Israeli flag raised to mark country's national day
The Israeli flag is flying at Ottawa City Hall today to mark the country's national day, with plans to hold a private ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day. There is a significant police presence at City Hall, including security barriers outside the main doors.
8 dead, at least 40 injured as farmworkers' bus overturns in central Florida
A bus carrying farmworkers in central Florida overturned on Tuesday, killing eight people and injuring about 40 other passengers, authorities said.