Central Station’s poverty action group members have a few months of thought and discussion under their belts, and now they’re taking the next step with a new name.
The group, which includes community members dedicated to reducing poverty and enhancing well-being in Winkler, will now be known as the Winkler Impact Network.
“We wanted to really focus in on what this group is doing to affect poverty,” explained Krista Rempel, the group’s facilitator and the social impact director for the community centre. “The new name reflects our commitment to Winkler and it also reflects that we’re a collaborative effort. We don’t think that we can affect poverty unless we do it together.”
They’ve also introduced a new tagline: “Bringing Poverty to Light.”
“A big factor in what we want to do is shed awareness on some of the poverty issues, in particular the issues that are a bit more hidden in Winkler,” Rempel said.
“We continue to see a rise in homelessness. People are walking in here almost for sure on a weekly basis and they’re telling us, you know, I’m sleeping in my car or I’m sleeping in a tent in the park or I’m living in a camper or I’m couch surfing. It’s pretty consistent.
“I do think some of the community is aware of it, but I don’t think everyone is,” Rempel said, noting unhoused people are often not as visible on the streets of Winkler as they might be in a larger urban centre like Winnipeg.
The Winkler Impact Network intends to identify and address the root causes of poverty in the community, focusing on three key areas: housing and shelter, education and job training, and mental health and social services.
“We know that poverty is complex,” Rempel said. “We know that there’s a lot of factors. And we know it looks different in Winkler than it’s going to look anywhere else in the world.”
The group currently is in the information gathering phase of things.
“The first phase was really about identifying the different sectors of who we needed at the table,” Rempel explained. The network’s members include people with backgrounds in local social services, mental and physical health care, employment programs, real estate, spiritual care, business, and more.
“So we have our 21 leaders that have agreed to come on for the next minimum a year, and then after that we’ve entered into a data collection and analysis phase,” Rempel explained. “We really want to make sure that we understand the root causes of poverty and we understand where the needs are that we need to focus in on. There are lots of issues we could tackle, but we want to know exactly what it is that we need to have the most effect.”
They’re working the Tamarack Institute for Community Engagement on these efforts.
“We’re part of a communities reducing poverty initiative and we are with a cohort of 10 other communities who are doing the same thing that we’re doing,” Rempel said.
Come fall, they plan to assemble the data gathered and begin coming up with strategies to effect change.
“What I’m hoping for is to see a mixture of top-down and bottom-up, grassroots kind of initiatives,” said Rempel. “So we know that we’re going to need to go to the government and say there needs to be policy reforms, there needs to be things that are looked at a high level that are going to trickle down and really, truly affect people. We know we need that.
“We know we also need certain things that are going to come from the community. So those are going to be initiatives that are going to be led by the community and thought up by the community. Things that we’re short on. Like, we need solutions for child care, affordable housing, transportation.
“I’ve heard from so many people that have phenomenal ideas, but they can’t do them by themselves.”
Getting the community engaged and involved is a big part of the network’s plans.
“The leadership table is committed to doing some of the directional pieces, which is really vital and important, but also equally vital are the action tables, which are going to be made up of volunteers who have lots of skills and who are passionate about reducing poverty and making Winkler a place that we all want to live.”
Part of the network’s work will also be finding community partners and funding sources for its strategies.
“Once we have that in place, and those action tables, we’re going to give them the direction and the funds and they’re going to run with it,” Rempel said, encouraging anyone interested in getting involved to get in touch with her at Central Station to learn more (you can reach her via email to poverty@winklercentralstation.ca).
“We want this to be a community effort,” she stressed. “If you come to us and you say that you would like to help, we will find a place for you.”
