City awards sole outreach contract to Main Street Project
The City of Winnipeg awarded Main Street Project a $275,000 contract on June 30, under the requirement it focus on moving people from encampments and into housing, in compliance with the provincial homelessness strategy.
The contract comes six weeks after the agency was accused of reestablishing a homeless encampment near a Point Douglas riverbank, raising condemnation from community members and government officials.
BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS
An homeless encampment on the banks of the Red River along the North Winnipeg Parkway near Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg.
BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS
An homeless encampment on the banks of the Red River along the North Winnipeg Parkway near Waterfront Drive in Winnipeg.
Speaking to the Free Press for the first time since the May 20 incident, executive director Jamil Mahood defended the move, saying it was necessary.
'There is not enough housing for people, so we still need to find a way to buy time, for lack of a better word,' Mahood said by phone. 'In those cases, we will provide supports to people where they are at.'
Controversy was sparked after a Point Douglas bystander captured video of Main Street Project staff dropping off two people near a riverbank and helping them set up a campsite. The Point Douglas Residents Committee condemned the actions in a letter to government.
A spokesperson for the committee declined to comment on the new outreach contract Wednesday.
Mahood said he has since met with Mayor Scott Gillingham and Housing, Addictions and Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith to discuss the incident.
It was made clear during those meetings that — under the new provincial homelessness strategy — outreach workers should no longer move people between encampments, Mahood said.
'We recognize now that under the Your Way Home strategy, the province is offering some new alternative solutions that we didn't have before,' he said. 'It's very clear there is no encampment-to-encampment moving… We have that message now.'
Smith and Gillingham each provided statements to the Free Press Wednesday saying Main Street Project is expected to act in alignment with the strategy.
'It's very clear there is no encampment-to-encampment moving… We have that message now.'–Jamil Mahood
The agency won the contract through a request for proposal tender, which launched May 22 and closed June 12. Applicants were reviewed and scored in a competitive process, based on specific criteria, city spokesperson Adam Campbell said in an email.
The contract covers outreach efforts until Dec. 31, with the option of two one-year extensions, it said.
The request for proposal sought applicants able to 'rapidly transition' people out of encampments and into better accommodations.
When housing is unavailable, outreach teams should provide well-being checks, transportation, transfer to emergency shelters and referrals to other service providers, the request for proposal said.
Mahood said his agency has always prioritized housing, but the lack of available units is challenging. He warned the current supply could dry up within the next month.
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Sent weekly from the heart of Turtle Island, an exploration of Indigenous voices, perspectives and experiences.
Before introducing the tender process, the city provided annual funding to mobile outreach services, spending $550,000 between 2022 and 2024. Of those funds, $356,250 went to Main Street Project, $118,750 went to St. Boniface Street Links and $75,000 went to Resource Assistance for Youth, Campbell said.
The move to instead seek contracts for the city's outreach services accompanied an update to the city's 2025 budget and was supported by a city council motion, Campbell said.
The city would not confirm how many agencies submitted proposals, nor outline the amounts offered in other bids.
Part of Main Street Project's proposal included an agreement to maintain the $75,000 in support to Resource Assistance for Youth via subcontracts, Mahood said.
That agency will continue to respond to outreach calls involving youth, with Main Street Project picking up such calls after hours.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, says her agency has been 'frozen out.'
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Marion Willis, the founder of St. Boniface Street Links, says her agency has been 'frozen out.'
Meanwhile, the executive director of Street Links said her agency has been 'frozen out' without explanation. Marion Willis said her organization submitted a 32-page proposal for the contract.
She expects all outreach calls reported through Winnipeg's 311 service will be rerouted to Main Street Project. Previously, calls for service in areas east of the Red River were referred to Street Links, as per a 2021 city council resolution.
Mahood said he believes that is likely as well, although he has not had a formal discussion with the city.
'I'm furious, quite frankly, I can't believe just how wrong-headed this is,' Willis said. 'At the end of the day, what's happening here is what's been happening all along. This has all become so highly politicized.'
'We deliver outreach services to half the city of Winnipeg… Are we expected to do it for free now?'
'I'm furious, quite frankly, I can't believe just how wrong-headed this is.'–Marion Willis
Mahood said Main Street Project will 'strive to work in partnership with St. Boniface Street Links as much as possible, so hopefully there is still a way we can continue.'
The contract would have represented the only government funding Street Links receives, Willis said.
She believes her agency was better suited to fulfill the vision of the province's housing strategy.
Street Links and Main Street Project have previously feuded over their encampment philosophies: the former has stated it prioritizes housing first, while the latter has historically focused on meeting people where they are at.
tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca
Tyler SearleReporter
Tyler Searle is a multimedia producer who writes for the Free Press's city desk. A graduate of Red River College Polytechnic's creative communications program, he wrote for the Stonewall Teulon Tribune, Selkirk Record and Express Weekly News before joining the paper in 2022. Read more about Tyler.
Every piece of reporting Tyler produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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