A national conference on homelessness will hear how Winnipeg is working to find safe, affordable homes for hundreds of vulnerable people — most of whom identify as Indigenous.
The National Conference on Ending Homelessness takes place at the RBC Convention Centre from Wednesday to Friday. Nearly 1,000 people, including many front-line service providers from across Canada, are expected to attend.
This year’s theme is addressing Indigenous homelessness. That subject may explain why organizers picked Winnipeg as the host city — more than 70 per cent of homeless people in the city self-identify as Indigenous, according to a 2015 survey.
“There’s an over-representation across Canada but Winnipeg having the highest urban Aboriginal population generally, it’s even more dire,” said Christina Maes Nino, a community animator with the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg.
Two years ago, Maes Nino co-ordinated a city-wide survey that counted the number of homeless people on a given night — Oct. 25, 2015.
The survey is considered a conservative estimate of how many people are forced to sleep under bridges, stay in shelters or crash on a friend’s couch because they don’t have anywhere to live.
Maes Nino says her count found 1,400 people were homeless that night. While most were staying in shelters, transitional housing and institutions, a significant proportion — nine per cent — reported sleeping outside and about 24 per cent said they were staying at another’s home. Five per cent said they were staying in one of Winnipeg’s many hotels.
The study also suggests most people who don’t have homes in the city identify as Indigenous, Maes Nino said.
“The causes of homelessness for Indigenous people are unique,” she said.
“You can relate the causes of homelessness to child and family service systems, which link back to residential schools and other colonial systems that have disrupted Indigenous families.”
Almost 60 per cent of Indigenous homeless Winnipeggers said they were formerly in the care of Child and Family Services, compared to just 21 per cent of non-Indigenous homeless people.
While Maes Nino will not go so far as to say Winnipeg can declare success in ending the problem, she believes the city is a leader in Canada for addressing the specific circumstances of Indigenous homelessness.
Winnipeg is home to many Indigenous organizations and leaders who have advocated for vulnerable Indigenous people and sought to create more affordable housing, she said.
At Siloam Mission, one of the city’s largest homeless shelters and meal providers, the administration is looking to Indigenous leaders to make the charity more representational.
About two-thirds of Siloam clients are Indigenous, says CEO Jim Bell.
“Within the Indigenous community there is a lot of transition. People coming from reserves, coming to the city of Winnipeg and with that anybody would be faced with challenges around housing and finding work,” he said.
One solution, Bell said, is to “continue to listen, continue to work with leaders, continue to work with government.”
For Maes Nino, more must be done to increase resources to communities so they can create more affordable housing.
She will be watching closely next month, when Ottawa is expected to release its long-awaited national housing strategy to coincide with National Housing Day on Nov. 22.
Maes Nino is calling for the Liberal plan to include policy tailored to the experiences of Canada’s Indigenous people.