Lack of funding forcing women’s centre to end outreach program

A lack of funding has prompted the West Central Women’s Resource Centre to end some of its services, including outreach.

A women’s drop-in centre, located in Winnipeg’s West End, will soon close its outreach program due to a drop in government funding.

On Tuesday, the West Central Women’s Resource Centre (WCWRC) announced that Sunday will be the final day for its outreach team—a service that sees staff members travel by van to check on the wellness of community members, with a focus on those experiencing homelessness.

Lori English, WCWRC executive director, added that its outreach team provides a specialized service as it’s specifically focused on women and gender-diverse people.

“(It’s) a loss of direct connection and support on a day-to-day basis for the folks that we serve,” she said.

“Often, particularly, women and gender-diverse people face incredible barriers to accessing housing and the loss of an outreach van like ours…it means that we risk potentially severing that critical tie that leads them to permanent and stable housing.”

The WCWRC said this change comes after the province announced earlier this year that all outreach services would now be funded by the City of Winnipeg.

It noted that the city provided funding to three outreach teams last year. However, this year city gave its sole outreach contract to Main Street Project.

The WCWRC said giving the contract to Main Street Project was the correct choice but added the demand for service is much greater than one team can provide.

“I think what we need to recognize is the needs in the community are very high,” English said.

“And expecting one outreach team to provide service across a city the size of Winnipeg is an enormous task, and it’s not currently being properly resourced.”

In a statement, Minister of Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Bernadette Smith said the Manitoba government is building the homes people need. She added the province has provided WCWRC with nearly $900,000 in annual funding, including almost $400,000 for the centre’s transitional housing units.

A spokesperson for the City of Winnipeg said the city has not previously provided outreach funding to WCWRC.

-With files from CTV’s Glenn Pismenny