Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 20, 2025, Winnipeg, Manitoba GET THE NEWSLETTER DISH THE LATEST ON FOOD AND DR I NK I N W INN I P EG AND BEYOND From Free PressArts writers Ben Sigurdson & EvaWasney Sign up to get this weekly newsletter straight to your inbox at winnipegfreepress.com/email SERVING MANITOBA SINCE 1872. FOREVER WITH YOUR SUPPORT. MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2025 WEATHER PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH -27 — LOW -31 TOP NEWS TRUMP PROMISES BIG CHANGES IN U.S. / A3 Manitoba Housing resident worries strategy could worsen situation in her building Homeless plan stokes fears E VERY night before bed, 64-year-old Moira Connolly says her prayers and then shoves a small freezer against the entrance to her tiny St. James apart- ment. The Manitoba Housing resident says it’s one of several safety mea- sures she’s been forced to take — such as keeping a naloxone kit and sterile gloves by the front door — as her building deals with increased drug use and crime. She contacted the Free Press after Premier Wab Kinew unveiled his government’s strategy to end chron- ic homelessness, which includes a plan to move people from encamp- ments into social housing. Connolly is worried that could make matters worse at her building. On the same day, on the other side of the city, an Ojibwa elder who was too scared about gang retaliation to give her name, described a similar situation at her Manitoba Housing block at 444 Kennedy St. “When I first moved here, it was nice and quiet,” said the soft-spoken woman, who’s lived there a decade. “You didn’t have ongoing fires, people defecating in the hallways, peeing and sleeping in the stairwells, needles in stairwells.” The trouble began nearly four years ago, as younger people who had many problems, including addictions, moved into the building. The 57-year-old grandmother and recovering addict, who’s been sober many years, questioned the prov- ince’s “housing first” model in which people are moved into a stable place to make mental health and addic- tions treatment easier. “People have to want to get better — you can’t stick them somewhere and hope for the best,” she said. “They’re causing so much trouble and they bring their addicted friends here. There’s graffiti all over the place, all this traffic — in and out, in and out. They get their units taken over by these gangs. There’s fighting in the hallways, yelling in the hall- way and people threatening other people. There’s elderly people who live in this building and a couple of blind men that I worry about.” She said the situation is so bad, she doesn’t want her grandchildren to visit because people at the block offer to sell visitors drugs. Although mental health and other support workers are available, the people have to want to do the work, she said. Connolly, who lives at 22 Strauss Dr., said a careless minority of tenants in her building cause trouble for the majority, which includes a few who have addictions and men- tal-health issues but abide by the rules. She pointed out six suites where occupants openly buy, sell or use street drugs. She said tenants, including many who are vulnerable and elderly, have been robbed, assaulted and threat- ened. She saw a woman hit another woman in the head with a bottle in the elevator. She seen someone wield a machete at least four times and a gun out in the open once. On a tour Friday, she pointed to the back door of the building — which has a child-care centre — that she said is often propped open at night. CAROL SANDERS Historic building at risk after fire next door SCOTT BILLECK ONCE the hub of Winnipeg’s Black community, a 19th-century building with a past unknown to many now faces an uncertain future. The Craig Block, a two-storey brick building that was once home to North America’s first Black labour union, could suffer the same fate as its for- mer neighbour. Fire tore through the boarded-up Sutherland Hotel on Tues- day and the vacant piece of Winnipeg’s early history was later demolished. The Craig Block, which sustained fire and water damage in connection with the hotel blaze, still needs to be inspected by the city. A city spokesper- son wouldn’t confirm whether it was a total loss. “The Craig Block is a building you’ll pass by 100 times and never give it a second look,” city historian Christian Cassidy said. Built in 1894 for fruit wholesaler George Craig, the Craig Block became a bustling hub for the Black commu- nity. The Order of the Sleeping Car Porters, believed by many to be North America’s first Black labour union after it incorporated in Winnipeg in 1917, set up its offices and meeting hall on the second floor at 795 Main St. in 1922. “For many of the porters, they might not have been here for a long time — perhaps just passing through or here for a couple of years before moving on to other cities,” Cassidy said. “It was really kind of a welcoming centre and a place for the Black community to congregate.” The Porters’ band used upstairs space to practise and more Black orga- nizations began to gather there, includ- ing the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a U.S. entity that set up an office in the city. Black businesses spread to the main floor of the 4,650-square-foot building, including a pool hall and a barber shop. Another group called the Coloured People Social and Charitable Associ- ation held office space in the building until the 1980s. ‘Struck by the power and clarity of her voice’ MUSIC has always been a way for Ol- ivia Steadman to process what can be a strange and scary world around her. Blind at birth as the result of a stroke she suffered in the womb, the 22-year-old Winnipegger also lives with cerebral palsy and other intel- lectual challenges that have made the routine tasks and luxuries of life most of us take for granted seem impossible at times. “There’s a lot of isolation for people who are perceived as different or have disabilities,” said her mother, Barbro Dick. And that’s why what went down last Thursday night at Canada Life Centre prior to the NHL game between the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken was bigger than a young woman being given the opportunity to achieve her dream of belting out the Canadian and American anthems on a big stage. It was community and connection. Hope and inspiration. “I just can’t believe the number of people who have been touched by this,” said Olivia’s father, Tim Steadman, noting the family phones have been “blowing up” over the past several days with thousands of messages from as far away as Australia. Olivia, to borrow a popular showbiz term, brought the house down with her stirring renditions of The Star-Span- gled Banner and O Canada. “It is not easy to sing in front of thousands of people and she performed with such joy and grace. I was struck by the power and the clarity of her voice,” said Jets regular anthem singer Stacey Nattrass. MIKE MCINTYRE RUTH BONNEVILLE / FREE PRESS Moira Connolly stands next to her freezer that she pushes against her entrance each night to keep herself safe in her Manitoba Housing complex. Winnipegger brought the house down with stirring renditions of national anthems JONATHAN KOZUB / WINNIPEG JETS Olivia Steadman, who has been blind since birth and lives with cerebral palsy, sang both national anthems at the Jets game. ● HOUSING, CONTINUED ON A2 ● AT RISK, CONTINUED ON A2 ● HOPE, CONTINUED ON A4 ;