A speculative and inaccurate Facebook post caused some misunderstandings and misgivings to a pilot project that was geared to help people find housing, get connected to programs and services that would help to rehabilitate their lives. The pilot project was a joint effort with local service groups and provided outreach programming.
“The project was a multidisciplinary team-based approach to support individuals in the community who are struggling with homelessness and or imminent risk of housing loss and are dealing with multi-layered mental health issues and or addictions,” said CMHA Executive Director James Wigley.
“Initial outreach activities included identifying individuals in need of support, connecting with them, assessing needs, providing referrals and linkages to appropriate resources, as well as, teaching independent living and helping to work on the barriers in place that make it difficult for our peers to find housing in the Valley. The overall goals are to reduce calls for service with the RCMP and place people in a monitored living arrangement that would encourage them to work on those barriers and see a different way in which they could live.
“Our partnerships included EIA, all levels from PMH, the Timberland Inn, BOSS Security, ECMC (Community Mobilization) and Swan Valley Crisis Centre,” said Wigley.
“Ten rooms were rented with one participant per room, no visitors were allowed, and participants had to keep their rooms clean, tidy and safe for Timberland house cleaning staff, as well as CMHA staff that did daily room checks. Each participant left the space at 9 a.m. and returned at 4 p.m. Security was employed to ensure safety overall.”
The pilot project had a lot of positive outcomes for both the participants and the community as a whole.
“As a result of this project, call for service for these individuals decreased or non-existent whether it was police or EMT,” said Wigley. “ It removed ten people from the streets for four and half months and allowed easy access to mental and physical health services to connect with participants.
“Participants were given daily goals to focus on and were held accountable for their actions if they didn’t fall in line with the program guidelines. Evictions took place for those who didn’t want to put the work in, but for the most part, it allowed a population to see what was possible for their futures and encouraged them to continue to work on their goals.
“As a result of this project, three individuals are currently living in private rentals; four have continued in our program with monitored housing option’, three have obtained and remained employed within the Valley; two are working towards their education; one has started to write a novel of his life story; one completed a treatment program; and two were able to successfully have visits with their children,” said Wigley.
“Only two individuals who lived in the Timberland during the entirety of the program duration were involved in criminal activity, and one of them completed community service hours aiding around the community.
“Multiple participants that hadn’t connected to mental or physical health in up to two years have reconnected with services,” said Wigley. “They are attending their appointments and seeking support. All individuals were connected with different agencies in the Valley such as EIA, Immigrant Services, PMH, and mental health supports, as well, all have proper identification and documents.
“The biggest success to note is that one individual who didn’t think support was what they wanted has since let staff know that they will do whatever it takes to get them back to being housed, as this was an eye opener on a whole new world and they definitely want this life.”
Although the pilot project ended, CMHA will continue to work with individuals who need assistance with housing and supportive programming in the community.
“Staff continue to work with all individuals that were housed in the project to ensure long-term intentional supports continue be it with housing, mental health, employment, education, etc. and we continue to act as a voice for the needs that the Valley faces in supporting all vulnerable individuals,” said Wigley.
The lack of housing impacts not only those who are struggling, but anyone wishing to come work and live in the Valley, so it’s a common problem, not just a societal one. Some opportunities could be explored with Manitoba Housing units and complexes that could help with the housing situation as a whole.
“The fact of the matter is that our community doesn’t have enough housing allocated for use,” said Wigley. “This includes clientele and participants of our many programs and services, but it also includes individuals hoping and wanting to come to our Valley for employment or educational opportunities.
“So, we believe strongly that by changing the status of some Manitoba Housing complexes within our community to allow for single adults to obtain, it would be a great help to our community again, not only just for our participants and clientele we support and work with but also for others within our community too. Unfortunately, there is still going to be a population who aren’t able to secure this housing even if its purpose or mandate is adjusted for a variety of reasons.
“We would ultimately like to see a similar project in partnership with Manitoba Housing as we have currently operating in Dauphin and Winnipeg,” said Wigley. “We have specialized service teams based within a building that all the tenants, have access to for support.
“In addition to this, there are some units that are provided to the specialized service team to place individuals who they are supporting who don’t currently have housing or require different housing. These individuals are participants of a program already and attached to a number of services and must abide by strict rules and guidelines to ensure that they are working and continuing to work towards self-goals that are set out by an individualized service plan (ISP).
“Often these individuals are also included in jobs around the building to support the space in which they live,” said Wigley. “Additionally, security services are provided to this building to support all the tenants living within the building to help keep everyone safe, but also to support anyone after hours who may be encountering issues or something relating to the building itself.
“This however is still in the discussion phase and there has been no set decision on whether this type of program will go forward for the community of Swan River, or not. The model that has been implemented in Dauphin and Winnipeg has been very successful and we hope we can replicate that for our community before it gets too cold.
“A project such as this costs a lot of dedication and time from many individuals, services and organizations to be successful, and we are grateful for the support we have from our community partners to see success with a project like this,” said Wigley.
“We have lots of agencies that are interested in being a part of a program such as this. Our partner agencies which we mentioned earlier are all interested in seeing a program such as this happen for our community and would like to be involved in supporting it, the location, and the various individuals who live at the location.”
Nothing has been set in stone in terms of a project like this. Options are being looked into and some preliminary discussions have been had, but nothing definite that could be presented or shared to the community at this time. CMHA wants to work with the community and participants to help with the housing crisis proactively and positively.
“Unfortunately, at times, information is shared pre-maturely before an actual plan and set decision can be put in place and communicated properly,” said Wigley. “When that happens, it leaves room for speculation and escalation of emotions because there is no opportunity to ask important questions and have voices heard.
“Everyone needs to understand that while these discussions are ongoing and have been happening for months now, nothing has been set for our community. If or when a plan and decision are arrived at to implement a program similar to what we see operating in Dauphin and Winnipeg currently, steps will be taken to properly notify and consult with all who are involved and potentially impacted.
“Continuing to refer to community members that are working hard on themselves and their struggles and accessing our services and spaces as addicts is incorrect, unfactual and inappropriate,” said Wigley.
“A project such as the one we are hoping to work towards is not to try and house those that are not wanting, willing or able to be housed, or who don’t want change in their lives that is required to be a part of the program,” said Wigley. “The community housing with supports team works with a caseload of twenty-two individuals that are actively working towards and wanting to make changes as well as want the supports available to assist them with whichever direction they came from and are going.”