‘The public is frustrated’: Winnipeg mayor concerned by pace of homeless encampment strategy

Mayor Scott Gillingham is frustrated about the slow speed of the province’s homelessness strategy to get people out of encampments.

Winnipeg’s mayor is expressing his concern over the speed at which Manitoba’s plan to end homelessness is moving forward.

On Thursday, Scott Gillingham said he thinks “nothing is moving fast enough” with the province’s “Your Way Home” strategy – a plan to get people out of encampments and into suitable housing with addiction and mental health supports.

“The bottleneck right now is there’s not enough housing units available to take people out of encampments, put them into housing and get them wraparound supports. That is frustrating,” he said.

The mayor’s comments come as a motion before city hall looks to stop encampments from being set up in public spaces frequently used by families, including community centres, playgrounds and spray pads.

The mayor said he’s willing to work with councillors on this issue and find ways to protect public spaces from the overgrowth of encampments.

“The public is frustrated. I’m frustrated. There’s not enough housing units available to move people from encampments into housing with wraparound supports,” Gillingham said.

“When you’ve got encampments in playgrounds it’s concerning to residents. It’s concerning to councillors…It is concerning to me, as well.”

To complete the “Your Way Home” plan, the province is buying and renovating apartment buildings and funding staffing supports through community organizations. The full strategy is available online.