Homelessness is a pervasive issue that persists for many communities from coast to coast. When it comes to addressing the issue in Manitoba, municipal and provincial leaders are looking to successes in other jurisdictions as a framework for tackling chronic homelessness.
Last September, Mayor Scott Gillingham traveled to Houston, Texas, to see firsthand how the city has managed to reduce the number of homeless people by two-thirds since 2012.
“What impressed me most about Houston is that they have a coordinated plan,” Gillingham said. “All levels of government, front-line nonprofit agencies, the business community have the same plan, a coordinated plan.”
Gillingham believes the city is well-positioned to take significant steps, but he says the lack of low-barrier housing is an ongoing problem.
“We have some, but we don’t have enough,” says Gillingham. “We need to continue our work as the City of Winnipeg to build more housing and build more housing faster.”
Gillingham was the first to visit Houston, but he was not the first to look at housing-first initiatives as a solution. In 2022, the Manitoba NDP announced while in the official opposition role that they would investigate the model if elected.
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Manitoba Housing Minister Bernadette Smith, who recently led a delegation to Houston two weeks ago, explained that in addition to increasing the amount of low-barrier housing, Manitoba, and by extension Winnipeg, need to involve as many support organizations as possible.
“How do we bring all the systems together to make sure that we’re properly supporting and removing people from the systems,” said Smith. “I think we do that really well in Manitoba and Winnipeg, we look at the individual, the people, and we all have good intentions.”
The Houston model is not flawless, according to Shauna MacKinnon, professor and chair of urban and inner-city studies at the University of Winnipeg. She believes politicians here have already taken far more progressive steps toward addressing chronic homelessness.
“Doing things like expanding social housing, increasing supports for people, comprehensive supports for those people once they get housing, better tenant protections,” MacKinnon explained. “These are all issues that we need to focus on to take a more comprehensive approach, and that’s not really done in Houston.”
Siloam Mission CEO Tessa Blaikie-Whitecloud says her organization is willing to work with all levels of government on the issue.
“People experience homelessness when every other system fails them in some way,” Whitecloud said. “We really need to make sure that we create an inclusive and caring community space within that housing so that people can feel a sense of belonging and thrive from that sense of belonging.”
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