For years, many Manitobans have held to the common misconception that homelessness is a Winnipeg-centric issue, but nothing could be further from the truth.
In recent years, more and more communities in the rural southeast are witnessing the telltale signs left by an ever-growing homeless population. Many of these rural homeless have been congregating at encampments, or tent villages, in Steinbach.
Thanks to the generous spirit of a collection of local volunteers in recent years, the idea for The INN Inc. was born.
Board members of The INN, which stands for Initiative for Neighbourly Nights, believe it’s possible to put an end to homelessness in southeastern Manitoba if the right resources are provided.
And that’s just what they intend to do.
Still in its fundraising and design phase, The INN will be a two-storey apartment-style structure in Steinbach. Its primary purpose will be to provide shelter for people in the region who find themselves homeless.
Clients of the facility will have short-term use of private or semi-private rooms. Washrooms, a kitchen area, and laundry spaces will be shared.
In total, The INN will provide a place of solace for around 30 people, with additional room to create an emergency shelter if needed.
Leona Doerksen is the original visionary for The INN and is chairperson of its board today. She says that the board’s intent is to maintain a local focus.
“We don’t have the resources to help people from all over the province, so we will be focusing on the needs of those in southeast Manitoba,” Doerksen says.
The board has already secured a general contractor for the build, utilizing Hillside Construction based out of Blumenort. The Lisa Clark Design firm from Steinbach will be responsible for creating the facility’s layout. Other local businesses have pledged in-kind support.
A seed fund has been established thanks to church fundraising initiatives as well as events like Summer in the City and Worship in the City. The goal of The INN board is to complete the build mortgage-free.
The mission statement of The Inn Inc. is to provide safe, low-barrier, transitional housing as soon as it opens its doors.
“Rather than just a shelter in the winter, The INN is committed to being open 365 days of the year, because, simply put, everyone needs a home all year-round,” states a news release from the nascent organization. “It is only with stable housing that people can focus on other needs they may have.”
Beyond just a place to eat and sleep, The INN will provide, or assist in accessing, full wrap-around services through agencies that work in housing, employment, mental health, addiction recovery, spiritual wellness, and other supports.
“The strategies used by The INN are those endorsed by the evidenced-based Housing First model,” the news release adds. “Simply put, this means that people are welcomed in off the street and given a place to live until a permanent housing solution is found. Guests will have access to the building 24/7 and they will work together with staff and volunteers to help keep the neighbourhood safe and clean.”
For Doerksen, a registered social worker, the issue of homelessness is one that seems to have been escalating ever since the pandemic. Contrary to common believe, it is not always the result of poor life choices.
“Ninety-eight percent of people living on the streets would say they’d rather have a secure home,” says Doerksen. “People don’t grow up saying, ‘Someday I’m going to be homeless.’ One of the biggest drivers [of homelessness today] is a lack of affordable housing.”
Long-term affordable housing, though, is one of the key components that The INN can’t provide. Nonetheless, Doerksen is hopeful that developers will soon be encouraged to fill that gap.
In the meantime, those that find themselves in a homeless situation are often Employment and Income Assistance (EIA) recipients, sometimes collecting government support after the loss of a job or the inability to work while they are ill.
“[EIA recipients] get like $800 per month,” Doerksen says. “None of us, really, should be spending more than 30 percent of our income on housing. Well, that’s $240 [for those on EIA]. Where can anyone even find a room for $240 per month?”
But there’s another class of homeless person these days. Doerksen calls them the working poor.
“We have couples that are both working and standing at the foodbanks because two people that are at entry-level jobs can hardly afford to pay rent, let alone a mortgage,” Doerksen explains.
Many churches in the southeast, she says, are doing their best to address homelessness in their communities. But when it comes to dealing with addictions or mental health concerns, they aren’t always equipped to help end the cycle.
“[This region does] have addiction treatment [and mental health resources] available, but for someone who doesn’t have an address or a way to get around, it’s harder for them to access that,” says Doerksen.
With a mandate to end homelessness in the southeast, Doerksen says that The INN board has developed a twofold strategy to make that happen: prevention and diversion.
Prevention includes more than just lobbying for the construction of affordable housing units. The board also intends to work alongside the province’s corrections system and Child and Family Services (CFS) to determine housing needs for those exiting correction facilities or aging out of the foster system.
Diversion, on the other hand, will mean helping guests of The INN get safely back to the community from which they came. In some cases, where a relationship breakdown is the cause of someone’s homelessness, the team anticipates providing mediation counselling to help restore them to their original home.
Currently, the board has seven members, but Doerksen says they would welcome more. Over the coming months, they hope to build board diversity by adding members of the business community as well as those who provide spiritual care, including a member of the First Nations community.
Eventually, a director and two staff members will be hired to run the facility. Volunteers will be needed on an ongoing basis for food preparation, maintenance, and general guest care.
“We’ve committed to the community that we will work with our guests to keep our neighbourhood clean and work towards increased safety,” Doerksen says. “We feel that we are going to make the neighbourhood safer because we’re welcoming people off the street so they will no longer have a need to be stealing or breaking into people’s property to try to stay warm.”
Optimistically, Doerksen says the first shovel could hit the ground as early as the upcoming spring. That projection is dependent, however, on the board achieving their fundraising goals.
