Though a homeless shelter may not be currently in operation in Portage la Prairie, after having closed due to lack of sufficient government funding, plenty of work is still going forward to help the vulnerable in our city.

Portage Community Revitalization Corporation (PCRC) has a team dedicated to dealing with several aspects of the concern.

Brendan Schaan is part of one, and is Reaching Home Project Coordinator.

"My job is to oversee the Reaching Home project, which is a housing-first initiative here in Portage la Prairie," says Schaan. "Our job is to meet people where they're at. The first goal is always to be trying to find housing for these individuals, and then working on the other things after that. So, the premise is, basically, housing first, and then finding the additional supports to make sure that they're able to maintain living in a housing environment."

Caseworker Alexa Kowerchuk helps Schaan in the Reaching Home department and has experience with the shelter.

"I work with Brendan and Tawnee, where three of us are the Reaching Home team," says Kowerchuk. "I came from the shelter. I was there since it opened."

Tawnee Kowerchuk was the coordinator at the shelter before it closed, and is now working with the Reaching Home team as case manager.

Robbie Longclaws is adding her expertise to the Ask Auntie program as its coordinator.

Mari Lawrence is the Wawokiya coordinator.

"Wawokiya mobilizes services for clients who need human services across multiple issues," notes Lawrence. "We have a table that guides that and offers resources, and then we build a support team for every client or family. Then we'll meet with them for up to a year to coordinate services and ensure they're getting what they need."

Through these efforts, work is continuing to help the homeless, and the team notes the vulnerable have not been abandoned.

"We're still trying to alleviate the issues that Portage is currently facing the best that we can with the resources that we have," adds Lawrence.

Schaan explains, since the closure of the shelter, Reaching Home has expanded its staff by two members, Tawnee and Alexa Kowerchuk.

"We have now a case manager and caseworker. The three of us together will be out in the community re-engaging with these individuals -- kind of finding them and meeting them where they're at and just making sure that they're not alone," says Schaan. "They're being supported as things are getting colder and people are going to become a little bit more dire for shelter as the fall and winter months come into play. The three of us will make sure that they are housed in some way or another, whether that's here in Portage, through an e-suite, or through a permanent housing solution, or, if it's desperate enough, we have the ability to transport people out of the community."

Schaan says they obviously want to keep people in Portage if they want to remain here for the long run.

"But at the end of the day, housing is our priority at this time," continues Schaan. "Obviously, with our shelter closing, it's something with which we have to adjust our rationale, because no one wants to be sleeping outside, especially in the fall and the winter months."

Ask Auntie is one of the newer programs, and Longclaws says she's heavily involved with the homeless.

"I have a few projects in mind for a capital project to help get some homes or some kind of structure for them to go to," adds Longclaws. "When I spoke with Riley Nepinak, when he came through town with the Suicide Awareness ride, he gave me a few ideas on what he does in Winnipeg with his homeless population. I'm hoping to have those run here, too. He put up the Warm Teepees for people in the winter, and because it's on cultural land, the city can't take it down."

She explains warm teepees have wood stoves inside, allowing people to enter and rest inside. Food and drink are also provided. Longclaws adds cultural stories and presentations will also be offered to those who make use of the warm teepees.

Longclaws says there are other ideas they're working with Nepinak to likewise implement.

Schaan adds another aspect of Reaching Home is upcoming efforts to connecting with local landlords.

"We'll be seeing if we can develop some form of co-op kind of initiative with them, where, if they have a vacant unit and they feel like they're comfortable, Reaching Home has the capacity to help people with their first month of rent, damage, and deposit," says Schaan. "And if there's any kind of damages that occur in the unit, we have the capacity to help repair them. With that kind of knowledge, we wanted to canvas around the community and see if there are any local landlords that would like to partner with us. That way, it gives us more of a repertoire when people come in looking for more permanent housing options."

He notes this will provide them with a list of standby connections upon which they can call.

PCRC executive director Victoria Espey is excited to see something being done to assist the homeless.

"Just because the shelter has closed, it does not mean that we are not supporting our unsheltered population," notes Espey. "We're just supporting people in a very different way. In fact, it's a lot more direct and intentional about the services that we're providing to individuals and not just group of people who show up to a shelter. We're sitting down with clients and developing individualized plans for how we can support people in our community. We're still doing the work again, just in a different way."