Winnipeggers frustrated with homelessness response: survey

Winnipeggers believe the city and provincial government are not doing a good job addressing homelessness, according to a recent survey.

The survey, completed by Probe Research, showed Winnipeggers have an overly negative view of how homelessness is being addressed.

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It found 51 per cent of those surveyed believed the City of Winnipeg was doing a poor job, 32 per cent believed it was doing a fair job, and eight per cent believed the city was doing a good or excellent job.

With regards to the province, 46 per cent felt they were doing a poor job, while 34 per cent felt they were doing a fair job. Only 10 per cent thought they were doing a good or excellent job.

Social services and outreach agencies didn't fare much better. According to the poll, 36 per cent felt they were doing a good or excellent job, while 36 per cent thought they were doing a fair job and 18 per cent believed they were doing a poor job.

A majority of those surveyed believe the current efforts aren't working. Seventy-six per cent of people surveyed agreed that there needs to be an aggressive effort to find people places to live, while 74 per cent of people agreed that what's being done to address homelessness is not really working.

Fifty-six per cent said it is taking too much time to deal with the root causes of homelessness.

Mary Agnes Welch with Probe Research said this poll shows Winnipeggers have had enough.

"I think Winnipeggers are getting fed up with the status quo," she said.

For Agnes Welch, she feels this poll shows the people of Winnipeg are compassionate and know change needs to happen.

"They still want to deal with the root causes. They know that these are big problems that take time, but we're getting a bit impatient. We're not seeing the kind of improvement, in fact, we're seeing a lot of the byproducts of homelessness continue. The 7-Eleven's are closing, people don't feel safe downtown, all those things. We're getting a bit impatient, I think as Winnipeggers, with the pace of change."

When it comes to encampments, 68 per cent of those surveyed agreed that eliminating encampments couldn't begin until more affordable housing could be built.

The question of whether people experiencing homelessness have a right to remain in an encampment if they wish brought out a variety of responses. Twenty-one per cent strongly disagrees, 26 per cent somewhat disagreed, 24 per cent somewhat agreed while seven per cent strongly agreed. Twenty per cent of people responding were neutral.

Tessa Whitecloud, the CEO of Siloam Mission, said the solution to homelessness will be realized with a continued partnership between social services and government.

"I would love for social service agencies to have more capacity to change homelessness in Winnipeg and do a better job of addressing those needs for folks. Without full partnership from all levels of government to work on a plan that is a plan we action together, we're not going to have the success that we want," said Whitecloud.

Whitecloud noted it will also take more than just government and social services to solve this.

"I mean investment from people that have the capacity to donate housing units. I mean investment from people who can make contributions or volunteer. I mean investment in terms of the political will to say that people experiencing homelessness are my neighbour and I care," she said.

"This is solvable, but it will take all of us and it takes investing in solutions that work. We have a lot of examples of those solutions that have worked for a long time in our own city."

Responding to the poll Friday, the Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness, Bernadette Smith said this was an issue the NDP wanted to address when they formed government.

"We know Manitobans need good housing and supports to stay housed, which is why we are investing over $116 million through budget 2024 to build 350 new social housing units and repairing 3,000 units. We are working with all levels of government, community organizations and the private sector to address homelessness. We are committed to ending chronic homelessness in eight years," Smith said in an emailed statement.

Mayor Scott Gillingham said council recognizes there is a "crisis" on Winnipeg streets.

"That’s why we have created more shelter spaces, developed an extreme weather policy, funded the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, and launched a new housing program that is helping build thousands of new units across the city. These are all new initiatives, and while I’m confident they will make a difference, it will take time," said Gillingham in a statement.

Gillingham said he agreed with the poll that efforts aren't moving fast enough.

"Things aren’t moving fast enough for me, they’re not moving fast enough for City Council, and they’re not moving fast enough for homeless Winnipeggers and the general public. That’s why we’re going to keep pushing for more housing, keep improving our policies and programs, and keep collaborating with the province."

Probe Research surveyed 480 people in Winnipeg from Aug. 1 to 9 in a non-random poll online. The estimated margin of error is plus/minus 4.47 per cent, 19 times out of 20.