Submission to Budget 2020

The Manitoba Government is asking for feedback to inform the Province’s 2020 Budget. Below is our submission.

 

Dear Minister Fielding,

Please accept the following as West Central Women’s Resource Centre’s submission to the 2020 budget consultations. We were the lead organization on Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg, a multi-year project guided by people with experience of homelessness and 34 community organizations. This strategy is the first of its kind in Manitoba and, we believe, Canada. Most of our recommendations below are taken from this strategy. You can find the full report at https://wcwrc.ca/connecting-the-circle/. Please advise if you have any questions.

Gender-based Homelessness

It’s time to end homelessness, and it’s time to recognize the unique experiences of women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people in these efforts. Homelessness for these populations can look very different than for men, usually in ways that makes their experiences less visible and understood. Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg offers recommendations for action designed to enhance collaboration and cooperation across key stakeholders to close system gaps that create gender-based paths into homelessness and barriers to exiting homelessness. We urge the Manitoba Government to set aside the resources needed to implement these recommendations.

Using an Intersectional Gender-Based Analysis (IGBA) in Program/Policy Design and Delivery

An IGBA is an analytical tool used to consider how multiple identity factors (including sex, gender, race, cultural background, sexual orientation, age, and ability) impact people’s experiences.  Failure to use an IGBA increases the risk that policies and initiatives will inadvertently further increase inequalities. We urge the Province to implement the following recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Government and community organizations must:
   1. Use an IGBA in the design, delivery, and evaluation of all initiatives (such as policies, legislation, and programs) that relate to housing insecurity and homelessness;
   2. Meaningfully engage diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people with lived experience of housing insecurity and homelessness in the design and delivery of those initiatives.
2. Government and community organizations must develop front-line capacity to use an IGBA by:
   1. 2.1 Providing mandatory training for staff in community and government organizations that serve diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity;
   2. 2.2 Enhancing human resource policies and building capacity in government and community organizations that serve people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness so they can recruit and hire and accommodate more diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people, including people who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness.
3. All community and government organizations that support diverse Indigenous women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness must:
   1. Learn about and understand truth and reconciliation as well as the impacts of colonialism and oppression;
   2. Develop, deliver, and evaluate services for Indigenous women, trans, Two-Spirit, gender non-conforming people through a decolonizing and anti-oppressive approach.
4. Eliminate barriers rooted in service design and delivery (such as hours of operation, eligibility criteria, accessibility, and availability of childcare) that prevent diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people from accessing the supports they need to gain stable housing.
5. Ensure eligibility criteria for homelessness services include hidden homelessness and Indigenous homelessness.
6. Provide targeted outreach and delivery of government services (such as EIA, housing, CFS to marginalized women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness in community-based organizations where they are already accessing services.
7. Expand the ability of government and community-based organizations, with priority to organizations led by and serving newcomer, Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQ+ people, to offer transition services to diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people migrating to Winnipeg so they can better connect people experiencing homelessness to the resources that meet their unique needs.
8. Support community-based organizations that use an IGBA in the design and delivery of a full continuum of low-barrier housing-related services with wrap-around supports including Housing First programs, transitional and permanent supportive housing, rapid rehousing, and eviction prevention supports, so they can expand and improve services and outreach efforts to better meet the needs of diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity. Priority should be given to organizations that are led by or serve 2SLGBTQ+ and Indigenous Peoples.
9. Ensure diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness have access to a low-barrier safe space 24 hours a day. Support those spaces to use an intersectional gender-based analysis in the design and delivery of services that meet basic needs and connect to resources that address homelessness.

Poverty

Ending poverty, through government-led comprehensive poverty reduction plans developed using an IGBA with targets and timelines, should be at the forefront of efforts to make Manitoba the most improved province. The Rent Assist benefit needs to be enhanced so that caregivers of children aren’t forced to use other budgets such as the Canada Child Benefit to pay their rent. Our research identified a major risk of losing funds to sustain housing when household size changes due to experiences such as children going into care or incarceration.

We urge the Province to implement the recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Invest in reducing rates of poverty and social exclusion among diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people by using an IGBA in the development and implementation of comprehensive poverty reduction plans with targets and timelines.
2. Enhance the Rent Assist benefit so that caregivers of children aren’t forced to use other budgets such as the Canada Child Benefit to pay their rent, and move toward replacing one-off, income related benefits with a guaranteed annual income that will eliminate poverty for caregivers and their families.
3. Ensure all provincial policies have a reunification focus by extending family shelter benefits and granting emergency rent funds when necessary without the need for EIA director approval. Provide these same shelter benefits and emergency rent funds when necessary for three months prior to a reunification date.
4. Bring EIA, CFS, and community-based organizations together to align policy and work in collaboration to ensure no caregiver loses their housing when children are placed in care or experience other income insecurity related to changes in family size. Create and implement a province-wide plan to align all provincial departments and portfolios with the current Manitoba Housing policy that ensures secure housing for two years after an apprehension or family size change.

Addictions

The Virgo Report reported “striking disparity between the availability of addictions services for women compared to for men.” While there has been beds added, adequate services for women are still lacking and we urge the provincial government to include additional, appropriate treatment services and beds for women in Budget 2020. We urge the Province to implement the recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Provide publicly funded, gender-specific, and responsive detox and addictions treatment options and beds, including evidence-based day programs and residential programs that last beyond 28 days as needed to ensure immediate entry into detox and a seamless transition from detox into treatment services.
2. Consult with diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people to ensure they have access to a continuum of detox and addictions treatment services that are designed to meet their unique needs (such as childcare, harm reduction, trauma supports, and criminal records).
3. Ensure gender-specific and responsive detox and addictions treatment facilities can offer community-based, Indigenous-led healing and wellness practices that provide access to education, cultural reclamation, and that address gender-based and intergenerational trauma.

Mental Health

Mental health prevention and intervention services must consider and account for the ways that gender and other identity factors influence mental health. For women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people, this could include provisions for childcare and other parenting-related supports, pre- and post-natal care, trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices, and programs that address the impact of gender-based violence and stigma.

We recommend the Province invest in a range of better quality public and community-based mental health services that are inclusive of Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+  communities and that meet the unique needs of diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people at all ages, and ensure services can be accessed as soon as needed. Priority should be given to services that address trauma and take a trauma-informed approach. Please see the section on Continuum of Health in Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg for a more on this topic.

Child and Family Services

Caregiving and involvement in CFS are largely gendered issues. Women are much more likely than men to be caring for a son or daughter (65 percent compared to 35 percent) and 28 percent of caregivers experience financial difficulties due to these caregiving responsibilities. Most children are not living with their fathers at the time of going into care and at least 50 percent of fathers of children in care were not present.

We urge the Province to implement the recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Ensure caregivers are supported to meet their parenting needs, keeping children at home wherever possible and avoid child apprehension while they work to address challenges that increase their risk of experiencing homelessness.
2. Ensure caregivers have access to a culturally responsive support team when involved with CFS, assisting the caregiver to meet their individual needs, avoiding apprehension or working toward reunification as necessary, including the prevention of housing insecurity and homelessness.
3. Develop and implement an intersectional strategy in the CFS system to better support and nurture Two-Spirit, trans, and gender non-conforming youth in care. This includes gathering appropriate demographic data to know the extent of the need and supporting existing and potential foster families and group homes.

Child Care

Child care disproportionately impact women, who tend to be caregivers for children. Women with low income are greatly impacted by the long waitlist for child care spaces in Manitoba. They cannot afford private child care costs. We support the Child Care Coalition’s mandate for “fully accessible, publicly-funded, non-profit system of comprehensive and high quality childcare, with worthy wages and good working conditions for childcare staff.”

We urge the provincial government to maintain and create child care spaces in Winnipeg that meet the diverse needs of the women and families we support and to increase opportunities for subsidized spaces for families living with low income. We stand with Make Poverty History Manitoba in urging the Provincial Government to create 12,000 new affordable child care spaces.

Crime/Justice System

While women in the corrections system are often overlooked, women account for more than 1 in 10 admissions to adult correctional facilities. And among those, Indigenous women.

We share the Justice department’s goals as expressed in the Criminal Justice System Modernization Strategy released in March 2018. We, too, are concerned about high incarceration rates in Manitoba and agree they should be addressed with prevention, targeted resources, restorative justice and reintegration. This report includes clear language around “strong partnerships with community-based organizations” and we hope that includes front-line organizations like ours.

According to the 2018 Winnipeg Street Census, 13.5% of adult inmates released from Manitoba Correctional Centres were released into homelessness on one given night. We urge the Provincial Government to invest in programs and policies to prevent release into homelessness.

We encourage the Provincial Government to include a gender lens on their Justice strategies since women and gender non-conforming individuals face unique pathways into and out of the justice system.

1. With priority given to Indigenous-led and serving organizations that use an IGBA to support diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people, invest in:
   • Gender-specific and responsive bail support programs with housing supports;
   • Organizations that offer supports in remand to prevent the loss of homes and children.
2. Invest in programs and supports provided by Manitoba Corrections and community-based organizations that meet the unique needs of women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender-conforming people in Women’s Correctional Centre (WCC). Priority should be given to programs and supports led by Indigenous Peoples and the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Domestic Violence / Gender-based Violence

Gender-based violence is a multi-faceted issue that disproportionately impacts different women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people. It persists because of misogynistic, transphobic, and other hateful views. We must work together to end gender-based violence by using an intersection gender-based analysis to address.

We urge the Province to implement the recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Expand the mandate of the Family Violence Prevention Program to include all forms of gender-based violence so that women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people who have experienced violence can access a securely located and gender-specific emergency shelter that offers gender-based violence supports regardless of who perpetrated the violence or where the violence took place.
2. Extend shelter stays outlined in the EIA Administrative Manual from 30 days to 90 days to better ensure housing with wrap-around supports can be secured before leaving the shelter.
3. Ensure diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people who are victims of violence have access to community-based mental health and healing services, and ensure perpetrators of violence have access to programs that aim to stop the cycle of violence.
4. Support innovative solutions to ending gender-based violence, including public education and third-party reporting options, as well as trauma-informed and victim-centred training on working with victims’ perspectives for law enforcement and justice personnel.

Housing and homelessness

Housing is a human right. All citizens have the right to a decent and secure place to live and that it is a responsibility shared among all levels of government to ensure this right.

We urge the Province to implement the recommendations from Connecting the Circle: A Gender-Based Strategy to End Homelessness in Winnipeg:

1. Increase the supply of adequate, accessible, and quality rent-geared-to-income housing units built with universal design by the public, non-profit, and co-op sectors with specific targets to meet the need for units with three or more bedrooms. Provide supports to the private sector to enable the development of rent-geared-to-income housing.
2. Consult with diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people with lived experience of homelessness to maximize safety and comfort in new and existing rent-geared-to-income housing developments across the housing spectrum.
3. Prioritize the construction of adequate, accessible, and quality, rent-geared-to-income housing in a variety of neighbourhoods that are located near essential services including childcare, schools, laundry and transportation services, and grocery stores. Ensure that supports for maintaining tenancy, delivered using an IGBA, are also available nearby or on site.
4. Ensure diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people can access low-barrier, gender-specific, and responsive transitional and permanent supportive housing options with wraparound supports to meet their unique needs. Priority should be given to transitional housing models that meet the unique needs of 2SLGBTQ+ and Indigenous Peoples.
5. Establish partnerships between community-based housing advocates, housing providers, Winnipeg Police Service, and the Residential Tenancies Branch to develop policies and practices that ensure diverse women, trans, Two-Spirit, and gender non-conforming people don’t face discrimination, abuse, or exploitation by housing providers.

Reconciliation

Hundreds of years of colonization and destructive policies such as residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and the child welfare system have had – and continue to have – a devastating impact on our community.

We urge the Provincial Government to honour the treaties and UNDRIP and take immediate action to implement the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action and the National Inquiry into MMIWG Calls for Justice

Minimum Wage

Manitoba’s current minimum wage is a poverty-level wage. Those working full-time – or longer – to support their families should be able to live above the poverty line. Women are disproportionately represented in low-wage jobs – fully one-third of women earn less than $15 / hr, compared to only 22% of men.  And the stats are worse for Indigenous and newcomer women.

We stand with Make Poverty History Manitoba in urging the Provincial Government to raise the minimum wage to $15.53/hour.

Domestic Violence among Newcomer & Refugee Women

Domestic violence impacts all communities, but newcomer women face unique risks and challenges that are not adequately known or addressed in Manitoba. The result is that many are facing life-threatening abuse in silence.

Newcomer women in Canada may experience heightened isolation especially if they were sponsored by their spouse, have language barriers, may not be connected to social services or even connected within their ethno cultural communities. In addition, newcomer women may lack knowledge and in depth understanding regarding their rights as women. These factors make newcomer women more vulnerable to physical and psychological violence and less likely to report it.

But for real change to happen, we need this issue to be front-and-centre for those who most come in contact with newcomer women.

The Province needs to invest in rigorous training and in interpretation services to help prevent and stop domestic violence – and all forms of gender-based violence – for newcomer women.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this submission. We would love to meet with you to further discuss these important issues and look forward to working with you in the future.

Sincerely,

Lorie English

Executive Director