HOUSING SUPPORTS INITIATIVE PROFILE | |
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Housing Supports Initiative Profile: Genesis House
The Housing Supports Initiative (HSI), a $2.56m program funded by the Government of Manitoba and administered by MNPHA, is currently funding 19 unique projects that expand the capacity of organizations supporting people who are exiting or at risk of homelessness. The Initiative will run for two years, and is projected to improve the housing circumstances of around 450 individuals, and provide eviction prevention support to around 900 individuals. This month we are checking in with Genesis House about their HSI project.
Genesis House is a shelter for women and their children located in Winkler, MB that offers counselling and other supports in addition to residential services. The organization is unique within the area, supporting between 50-70 rural clients each year with the process of transitioning from abusive relationships into independent living. Throughout their work the staff identified two major challenges that had been amplified by Covid; shelters were full, and housing was more difficult than ever to access.
Navigating the systems required to access safe housing can be challenging, a situation that is exacerbated by barriers such as lack of education and childcare. To mitigate some of these challenges, Genesis House developed two new staff positions: a Housing Support Worker and a Child Care Worker. The primary roles and duties of the Housing Support Worker are to ensure clients can maintain a successful tenancy, with the Child Care Worker allowing mothers the space and time to focus on education around renting.
Executive Director Angela Braun says, “Most of our clients don’t have references, so when we put clients through an education program they will get a certificate at the end”. This certificate gives landlords a measure of assurance, and helps prospective tenants get a foot in the door of an increasingly competitive rental market. Braun says that both positions have helped immensely, noting that many Genesis House clients, already lacking confidence, found the process of applying for housing incredibly daunting.
She says “If you’ve had a lot of rejection it can be hard to keep going, get motivated to get up each day to see it through. We had a client with four kids that was quite timid. She’d never rented on her own before. It was taking her awhile to make it through the day, she felt defeated and needed a little bit more support, and having a staff person able to walk alongside her made all the difference”. Braun explains that through observing the staff make calls and carry-on conversations, the client was able to model, learning with each step.
“The growth she [the client] had was remarkable. The confidence she grew to pick up the phone after finding an ad and make that call. When she started every step was a challenge, by the end she was assertive and was viewing apartments.”
Genesis House’s project seeks to empower women and children fleeing abuse so they can remain successfully separated from their abusive partner in appropriate and safe housing. The additional staff that the Housing Supports Initiative fund are helping countless women move forward into better situations. Braun says, “Seeing the confidence that the program can bring is remarkable”, noting that one client “didn’t know she deserved it [a better situation], but realized at the end that she did”.
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Winnipeg Free Press article
An article in the Free Press published on Thursday, December 1, explores how the City of Winnipeg could soon seek several large sites to build 270 modular homes for unsheltered residents. A housing motion approved by council’s property and development committee on Wednesday would take the first steps to fulfil Mayor Scott Gillingham’s election promise to add the units, pending council approval. Coun. Sherri Rollins, who raised the motion, said its overall goal is to expedite the addition of supportive housing units.
MNPHA was contacted by the Free Press for comments, and shared that the proposal should make it much easier for organizations to get supportive housing projects completed. This excerpt from the article shares quotes from Christina Maes Nino, MNPHA's Executive Director:
“It will make a big difference. We certainly need more housing and for the city to be an active champion of it,” said Maes Nino. Ideally, all affordable housing projects should be eligible for municipal support from now on, with the municipal government identifying available land and helping proponents complete the approval process, she said.
“When organizations face delays in approvals, in zoning, adjustments in permits, all of those things make the projects more expensive and, therefore, reduce the affordability or the number of units that an organization can build. If the city is facilitating that and is more active, we would get more units at a lower cost,” said Maes Nino.
She hopes new city supports can attract the creation of thousands of additional affordable housing units, ensuring help for those at high risk of becoming homeless as well as those who already live unsheltered.
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CBC: Mayor's promise to build modular housing for homeless Winnipeggers gets boost from city committee
This CBC article explores Mayor Scott Gillingham's campaign promise to build hundreds of housing units on city-owned land for people experiencing homelessness, as well as the retirement of outgoing Property and Development Director, John Kiernan. To read the article click here. | |
Will increased supply improve affordability?
Steve Pomeroy, Industry Professor and Executive Advisor, Canadian Housing Evidence Collaborative, McMaster University, wrote an article in the CHEC newsletter about proposed legislation to increase housing supply.
The article discusses the "More Homes Built Faster Act" and questions whether a supply increase is realistic, and if the Act will improve a lack of affordability.
Click here to read the full article, and click here to sign up for the CHEC newsletter to receive more like it.
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SAM Management Partners with Makoon Transitions at 26 Gaylene Place
SAM Management partnered with Makoon Transitions to use 26 Gaylene Place as a safe supportive space for reunifying Indigenous families.
Makoon Transitions Inc. was founded in 2020 by Kendra Inglis and a partner who is no longer with the organization. The program was developed to create safe spaces and equip families with the resources and programming they need to reunify and transition out of the child welfare system. The program removes children from foster care and places them back in homes with their parents. The approach is holistic and team-based, with families who take part being encouraged to learn and practise healthy parenting skills, so the cycle of child removal is broken.
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Rapid Housing Initiative: Third round of funding open from December 12, 2022 - March 15, 2023
CMHC launched the Rapid Housing Initiative to quickly develop new affordable housing to those who need it most. There is an additional $1.5B in investment in the Cities Stream (which includes Winnipeg and Brandon) and Projects Stream to support the rapid creation of at least 4,500 more homes.
This is an opportunity to help those in severe housing need with the construction of new affordable housing units.Learn more about the funding here
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Winnipeg Foundation Organizational Development Grants
Organizational Development Grants are designed to help Winnipeg charitable organizations build their capacity for stability today and sustainability in the future.
- Your organization must have a Community Grants history with The Winnipeg Foundation in order to be eligible for an Organizational Development Grant.
- Your organization must have a registered charitable number from Canada Revenue Agency or be a qualified done to apply for an Organizational Development Grant.
- The maximum grant request is $10,000 which can be used towards projects such as:
- Group mentorship or Job shadowing
- Communications, fundraising or capital campaign, Human Resources, or strategic planning
- Feasibility studies or evaluation
- Governance or board development
- Imagine Canada accreditation
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Chartered Institute of Housing Courses Open Soon
Gain a professional designation in housing with the internationally recognized Chartered Institute of Housing.
Cohort for the CIH Level 5 Diploma in Housing opens in March 2023. Apply by March 6, 2023. More information L5 Diploma in Housing.
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MNPHA Lunch and Learn: Getting Started on Non-Profit Development and Construction
This lunch and learn with Bockstael Construction will take place on Thursday, December 8th from 11:30am - 1:00pm at Fort Rouge Leisure Centre, 625 Osborne Street, Winnipeg. Topics covered include how to get started with the development process and the role of the builder.
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Housing Providers Implementing the Right to Housing Best Practice Guide
The Housing Best Practice Guide and adjoining sample policies created by the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights offer a framework for housing providers to implement the principles of the right to housing. This is done through exploring their relationship to the right to housing and through the implementation of housing policies that expand their residents’ access to secure and adequate homes. You can download the Housing Best Practice Guide for free from the Canadian Centre for Housing Rights website.
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Recycle Everywhere offering free mini bins
Recycle Everywhere continues to support multi-family dwellings (MFD) in Manitoba by providing no-cost beverage container recycling infrastructure and resources.
The Mini Bin is a light-weight recycling bin designed for apartments, condos and other multi-family dwellings. It comes equipped with a plastic handle, making it easy to transport recyclables to a shared collection location. Recycle Everywhere also provides instructional posters that can be hung in shared spaces for residents.
If you are a property manager and would like Mini Bins for your suites, as well as supporting signage, please contact info@recycleeverywhere.ca with the subject line “MFD inquiry”.
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membership@mnpha.com I (204)797-6746 ext.3
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