Men are Part of the Solution (MAPS) celebrated the grand opening of its side-b-y-side transitional housing units on Stanford Bay in Eastwood Sept.9, gathering partners and supporters of the organization and project to commemorate the success of establishing sober living facilities that aim to help men work towards obtaining stable, long-term housing.
"The one thing about projects like this and others, I know it doesn't come about easily," said Oswald Sawh, chair of the MAPS board. "It doesn't come about unless there's a number of people involved and a number, all the levels of government being involved."
Sawh said he was disappointed that MAPS hadn't come up with a snazzier name for the facility, but admitted that having the facility is more important than what it's called.
"At the end of the day what it's about, it's not as much about the name but what's going to happen in this house," said Sawh, noting that the clients already living in one of the units were happy to have found a home base. "They're doing great and they enjoy being here and they enjoy having a place where they can call their own. That's their place now, that's their home."
MAPS supports men who are facing situational and developmental stress by providing a range of services including a counselling program. The mandate of its transitional housing services is to provide a home and in-house programming for men in need of a supportive environment that is drug- and alcohol-free, with the long-term goal of helping its clients to find stable long-term housing. Admission to transitional housing is open to men aged 18 years or older who are willing to commit to a minimum residency of 90 days, to have no drugs or alcohol in their system and to work, volunteer or attend school. Residents pay $1,102.50 per month for room and board and maintain their own rooms, which include a bed and bedding, other furnishings, a TV and a mini-fridge. There are also laundry facilities on site. Transitional housing is not open to men with a history of sex crimes or arson.
Kim Hickes, executive director of the Thompson Crisis centre, which is one of the organizations with a seat on the MAPS board, said the transitional housing facility was part of a holistic approach to dealing with and preventing domestic and family violence.
"We recognize that in order to be effective when we're battling domestic and family violence that it truly needs to be a holistic approach and we truly need to look at the whole entire unit,' said Hickes. "I truly believe that if we're ever going to advance past violence that we need to involve all parties and we need to focus on healthy boundaries, healthy relationships and healthy family units. This provides the environment to be able to teach and model healthy relationships and healthy behaviours and it will only benefit the Thompson Crisis Centre having men come through here and learn those types of skills."
John Donovan, northern regional director with the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, said until recently, many clients who left AFM's treatment programs moved into the Thompson Inn after getting sober.
"You've got to shake your head," said Donovan. "What's wrong with that picture?"
Now that the concept of housing first, which holds that the most important factor in treating people's addictions or problems like homelessness is finding people a place to live, has taken off, said Donovan, better options are opening up.
"The guys that are living here and the men that will come through these doors have all struggled with housing and it's been such a key answer to be able to sit down with them and say, 'You know what? You have a chance. You have a place to get sober,'" said Donovan. "This is a recovery community. I believe that the one that sits here in this building is going to become a huge impact for hundreds and hundreds of men in their lives as they go through their sobriety and this'll be their change. It'll be the beacon for other men who are living on the street, who live in damp housing or who are going through treatment and recognize that they're not alone, there is a warm and caring place for them to live and to grow and to stay sober. I think that this is an amazing move for our community and for all the people who suffer from addictions in the North."
Thompson MLA Steve Ashton, who Sawh singled out for helping MAPS to gain access to operating funds in the past, said what transitional housing offered to the people who lived there was not just a place to call home but also a sense of hope.
"What it says is everyone who's coming through this is in a journey to a better place and it really bring everything full circle which is the solution for domestic violence," said Ashton. "It has to be holistic, it has to be comprehensive, I think it has to have cultural sensitivity, it has to have sensitivity to region as well and dare I say in a community where it's still very difficult for many people to find any kind of housing that's affordable, it's part of that continuum."
Bringing the project to fruition was a result of the work of people dedicated to making a difference in their community, said Mayor Tim Johnston.
"I'm extremely proud of everything that's being done and I think Thompson is a leader," said the mayor, who presented a certificate of appreciation to MAPS on behalf of the city. "Every day we need to do more and we need to support each other and we need to build on it."
Sawh said the transitional housing project could not have happened without the support of a broad group of funding agencies, including the federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which provided about 80 per cent of the money needed to buy the duplex that houses the units, as well as local and provincial organizations, including the Thompson Urban Aboriginal Strategy, the Thompson Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation and the Manitoba Community Services Council, which provided money to renovate the duplex, which has space for 11 residents - six in one side and five in the other - and where men will be able to access services to help them manage their lives, including counselling services.
"We're also working with other stakeholders, other groups, which will be coming in to also work with the guys," said Sawh. "We will be setting up different things like an art room, a woodworking shop outside, things that will keep the guys engaged."
