Sept. 17 Program - St. Boniface Street Links
Our speaker today was Marion Willis from St. Boniface Street Links.
Marion said that 10 years ago, when most people her age were contemplating retirement, she decided to take action to address the addictions, mental health & homelessness problem in Winnipeg.
Marion said that she was inspired by homeless people to address these issues. Gail Morberg who had recently sold her Calm Air business purchased a house at 311 Provencher for Marion to pursue her dream of offering help. This house became Morberg House with 12 beds. Marion said at this point she was overwhelmed with the scope of the work she had undertaken but by December 2016 she was helping address the homeless issues.
Most of her clients are referred by the Manitoba Justice system and they are screened before they enter the 2-year rehab program.
Marion said that most clients have complex trauma issues and these are addressed through cognitive behavior therapy.
St Boniface Street Links operates throughout Winnipeg and has an outreach program staffed primarily by successful graduates of the program.
Marion said that there are different approaches used by various homeless programs such as the Main Street Project & End Homelessness Winnipeg and sometimes these are in conflict.
St Boniface Street Links has a recovery rate of 63% which is the highest of any similar type of program.
Marion said that they had recently lost their government funding and they are now reliant on donations from the public. She suggested that our club consider helping their program with funding in the future.
President Bob thanked Marion for her informative presentation.
