The province will be providing over $4 million in funding to support Indigenous-led addictions programming across Manitoba, according to Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith. Smith said the funds will support Indigenous-led organisations to provide culturally based, holistic day and evening programs. Altogether, she said it will create more than 1,200 new treatment spaces in Manitoba. “Homeless and addiction has grown over the last decade, and our government knows that Manitobans need support,” Smith said at a news conference on Monday. “We also know that disproportionate numbers of individuals affected are Indigenous,” she said. “That is why Indigenous-led addiction services are essential, because they are rooted in cultural safety, community knowledge and holistic healing approaches that reflect indigenous worldviews and lived experiences.” More than $2.4 million has already been invested to create 800 day and evening treatment spaces which are now open, according to a news release from the province. In Winnipeg, funding allocations include $657,000 to Life’s Journey for a drop-in resource centre supporting neurodiverse individuals, $291,000 to Oshki-Giizhig Inc. to expand its Beaver Lodge Day Services Program and $718,000 to Ndinawe for cultural-based daily support meetings. Over $365,000 has also been allocated to Mikaaming Mino Pimatiziwin Healing Lodge for day programming in Sagkeeng First Nation and surrounding areas, as well as $450,000 to Misipawistik Cree Nation Health Authority for a seven-week outpatient program. An additional 400 treatment spaces are set to open this year, with $1.5 million earmarked for Interlake Reserves Tribal Council withdrawal management services across five First Nations communities in the Interlake. Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre has also been allocated $428,164 to expand virtual services through Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine Clinic. “Supporting Indigenous led services is not just a policy, but it’s also a commitment to reconciliation,” Smith said.
