Influx of newcomers causing stress for Winnipeg shelters

The call for help from British Columbia shelters to provide housing for refugees and asylum seekers is a familiar refrain for organizations in Manitoba, who say they face similar pressures.

In Richmond, B.C., shelters are calling for federal assistance due to newcomers reportedly taking up a third of all available beds, creating issues for the local homeless population.

Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, CEO of Siloam Mission, says there’s been a massive shift in demographics in Winnipeg as well.

“If you’d asked me over the summer what our percentage of refugees and asylum seekers were staying in our shelter — never mind using day services — I would say maybe five per cent,” Blaikie Whitecloud told 680 CJOB’s The Start. “Right now, I’d say it’s around 32 per cent.”

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It has put extra pressure on their services.

“All of the shelters right now are experiencing a higher need for volunteers, a higher need for socks, and underwear, and especially winter wear, as a lot of these folks of course are coming from warmer climates.”

Blakie Whitecloud says the new space should have language supports for newcomers, as well as people trained to help with the specific trauma shelter users may have faced in their home country.

In addition to the increased numbers, Blaikie Whitecloud said local shelters are running into issues with language barriers, as well as being able to understand the traumatic experiences many refugees may have undergone in their home countries.

“We’ve been working on it, but we don’t have as many translators for the languages that we need to be able to best support these asylum seekers,” she said. “Nor do we have the resources and understanding, necessarily, of what they’ve been through to get here to Canada — what they’ve escaped and what’s bringing them here as they’re seeking safety.”

Discussions, she said, are ongoing between the city’s various shelters and homelessness resource organizations who are collaborating on this issue and government officials.

“We’re really hopeful that we’ll be able to bring something online that’s specific to this population and meets their needs as they seek safety in Canada.”

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