Summer safety plan gets $500K to help marginalized people, increase safety for all in downtown Winnipeg
Mission is to create welcoming, safe, vibrant downtown where everyone feels supported: justice minister
A half-million-dollar effort to improve safety in downtown Winnipeg launches next week, based on a similar one implemented last summer.
"This will be a united effort from June to October this year, that's being led by the province of Manitoba as well as the City of Winnipeg in partnership with emergency services, with community organizations and with front-line teams," Minister of Justice Matt Wiebe said at a news conference Friday at The Forks.
"Our mission is clear: to create a welcoming and safe and vibrant downtown where everyone feels supported."
The 16-week downtown safety summer action plan will launch June 17 and will involve mental health and addictions supports, in addition to working to address crime, the province said in a news release.
It will be led by the Downtown Community Safety Partnership, which is getting $500,000 from the province, along with $50,000 from the City of Winnipeg and $25,000 from the Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone.
"This is a reflection that we believe in DCSP and the important work that they're doing," said Premier Wab Kinew, who lauded the work done by police, firefighters and paramedics in the city.
Having "that fourth layer of response" from the downtown safety partnership "to help address situations before they escalate … is exactly the kind of progressive policy that we need to keep people safe," said Kinew.
The DCSP — created by the provincial and municipal governments, Winnipeg Police Service, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, Downtown BIZ and True North Sports and Entertainment as a pilot project in 2019 and made permanent a year later — does 24/7 foot patrols downtown.
It helps ensure that certain responses that involve police are also tailored for other situations, like when someone is in distress from mental health issues or addictions, Kinew said.
"They deserve to be safe, too," he said.
Wiebe said the safety partnership offers a co-ordinated response that addresses the overall health, well-being and safety of the downtown community.
"It's about connection and collaboration," he said.
Lennard Taylor, a fashion designer who owns a studio in the Exchange District, says having patrols downtown has been helpful to not only deter retail theft, but also to offer help to visitors around the area, making it feel more welcoming.
"It's nice to have more patrols. It's nice to have more interaction," he said. "It's kind of like having a friendly neighbour there to give you a helping hand."
'People have got to feel safe': mayor
DCSP executive director Greg Burnett said the safety patrol helped hundreds of people last year, the vast majority of whom got what they needed "right at that moment" without a need to call other emergency responders.
That helped ease the strain on 911 by diverting 220 potential calls, and let police and fire-paramedics focus on other matters, he said.
"It's about helping people where they're at and meeting needs proactively," said Burnett.
Last year, the summer safety plan wasn't unveiled until the second week of July. This time, with many components already in place, it's easier to get rolling, he said.
"We want to be out there helping people as best as we can, as soon as we can."
The DCSP will distribute funds to other community groups that work with vulnerable, marginalized people in the downtown, such as the Bear Clan Patrol, Wiigiishin Giiwiigeenahn, and Ogijiita Pimatiswin Kinamatawin.
"Downtown is buzzing" with new developments, festivals and sporting events, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said, also noting that in a few weeks, street-level crossing at Portage and Main will reopen to pedestrians for the first time since 1979.
"But to keep that momentum going, people have got to feel safe," he said.
Kinew echoed that, saying it's all about safety through different measures.
"This is about making sure that somebody who's going through a cry for help can get the support that they need, when they need it," but also "making sure that somebody who needs to be held accountable because they're doing something bad in the community is going to be held accountable," he said.
"If we can make this investment together and also make sure those great events we have this summer are going to be that much more successful, all the better."
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With files from Gavin Axelrod and Faith Fundal