Manitoba says 249 people housed so far under new strategy

Shawn Bunskoek is living on the streets of Winnipeg and fighting to get a space to call his own. CTV’s Daniel Halmarson shares his story.

WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government says it has found housing for 249 people who had been living in encampments since it launched a new strategy at the start of last year.

Housing Minister Bernadette Smith says in a news release that the province has moved the people into transitional and permanent supported housing with the help of numerous local partners.

It’s an increase from the 186 people the government said in February it had housed through the Your Way Home strategy.

End Homelessness Winnipeg said in April that the number of people becoming homeless in the city was rising faster than efforts to find them stable housing.

It said there were 4,463 people facing chronic homelessness in the city, meaning they had been homeless for at least six months or repeatedly homeless over years.

The Manitoba government says it’s on track to find housing for an estimated 700 Manitobans living in camps, as part of its goal to end chronic homelessness by 2031.

Ian Bickis, The Canadian Press