'We're in dire straits': Winnipeg non-profit facing closure amid decrease in donations
A Winnipeg non-profit that offers support to vulnerable men is facing closure due to pandemic costs and decreased donations.
Forward House is a transitional housing program that provides 24-hour support for men who have experienced addiction, mental health issues, and homelessness. The organization has 25 transitional beds in the Elmwood neighbourhood.
“We provide them with supports to help give them the confidence to go back either into the group home, independent living, or in some cases even back to their families, and then provide them with ongoing support afterward to help make them be more successful in their recovery program,” said Robert Kreis, volunteer chair for Forward House.
Now, the non-profit is looking for help as it’s struggling due to extra costs from the pandemic and a lack of donations. The organization has used up its financial reserves, some staff have gone weeks without pay, and a furnace in one of its homes has stopped working.
“During the last 2.5 years of COVID, it hit us very hard financially in that donations were down,” he said.
Forward House is calling on the government for emergency funding support, and is also looking to the public for help. Kreis said the non-profit has traditionally been funded through donations from churches and private individuals, and has never asked the government for money.
“We’re in dire straits. We need some assistance. We’re looking for the government to step in and help provide us with a little bit of financial stability, so we can carry on providing the services that we are,” he said.
Kreis added that transitional housing programs are important and are also in short supply. He noted that without these types of supports some people may fall back into addiction, homelessness and poverty.
“It becomes a repeating cycle, where now you have more police calls, you have more ambulance calls, emergency rooms get filled up and you still don’t have people getting the help that they need,” he said.
Kreis said transitional housing is in “crisis” right now and “it needs an injection of cash.” He added that though Forward House is in jeopardy, the organization is committed to making it work.
“We will never give up. We will continue to fight for this. We just hope that through either some generous donations from the public or from the government stepping in to at least help us through this tough period so we can get things reorganized and increase our donations that we’ll be able to make it through,” he said.
Those who would like to help can volunteer or provide financial donations.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.