Homeless shelter in The Pas will keep doors open after purchase by Manitoba Housing

A homeless shelter in The Pas, Man., that was slated to close in June will now stay where it is.

Manitoba Housing has purchased Oscar's Place from The Pas Friendship Centre, said Manitoba Minister of Families Scott Fielding Tuesday.

"We believe that everyone deserves a safe place to stay, and we will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure adequate housing exists for Manitoba's most vulnerable population," Fielding said in a statement.

"The purchase of this property ensures that homeless shelter services can continue at Oscar's Place in the future. We would like to recognize the Friendship Centre for its hard work in operating the Oscar's Place shelter over the past 10 years."

Chad Zolinski, a member of the board of directors for Oscar's Place and the spokesperson for the group Stand Up for Oscar's Place, called the news "amazing."

"We don't know where things are going right now. This is all brand-new information," Zolinski said Tuesday. "We had no idea that this was happening up until yesterday," he said.

"It does mean a little more stability for Oscar's Place as it sits right now. It's really good."

A spokesperson for Manitoba Housing said the deal will be finalized this week. A dollar figure for purchasing the property has not been released.

In danger of closing

The Pas Friendship Centre abruptly announced it would no longer run the shelter in September of last year, leading volunteers and Manitoba Housing to take over operations.

The centre then gave the new board until March 31 to move Oscar's Place out of its current location, but Manitoba Housing started negotiating an extension to June 30.

In the meantime, the group was looking at other locations for the shelter, but a proposed location on Edwards Avenue in the downtown core drew objections from business owners and residents alike.

As of right now, we're still providing emergency overnight services, but we want to do so much more.- Chad Zolinski

In March, The Pas town council said they would not issue a conditional-use permit allowing the move to the new location.

Tuesday's news means the board of Oscar's Place can start moving forward with programming and renovations, said Zolinski.

"As of right now, we're still providing emergency overnight services, but we want to do so much more," he said.

That includes securing community partnerships to offer things like addictions and mental health programming and other community supports.

Oscar's Place is also on the verge of purchasing cots for the shelter. Right now, clients are sleeping on mats. Money for that purchase will come soon from Chevrolet, said Zolinski, after a local hockey team won a national contest worth $15,000 for the shelter. 

Anywhere from 20-33 people use the shelter nightly, he added.

"Manitoba Housing has been an amazing partner in this whole process. They've really been driving the bus and they've really stood behind Oscar's Place."