Housing First · Work second · Community always
A key first. No sobriety test, no job interview, no waiting list for being worthy.
Homes are offered first, with no requirement to be sober, employed, or in treatment before moving in. Stability comes first; work, healing and schooling follow from it.
This is a proposed plan, not a project under construction. Nothing has been approved, funded, or built.
Who the 50 homes are for
Homes are allocated by depth of need, not by readiness. The mix keeps the village a neighbourhood rather than a shelter.
Priority 1 — Unsheltered
Red River Métis citizens sleeping rough, in encampments, or cycling through Winnipeg emergency shelters, referred through MMF and shelter outreach partners.
Priority 2 — Hidden homeless
Couch-surfing households, families doubled up, and people discharged from hospital, treatment or custody with no fixed address.
Priority 3 — At imminent risk
Households under eviction notice or paying more than 70% of income to rent in unsafe or mould-damaged Winnipeg units.
Priority 4 — Elders & anchors
Elders, knowledge keepers and steady working households who anchor the community, mentor neighbours and keep the village mixed rather than segregated.
What Housing First means here
No sobriety, employment or treatment precondition for a key
Tenancy is permanent — support is offered, never a condition of staying
On-site housing support worker and an Elder-in-residence at the Hub
Harm reduction, mental health and addictions outreach visiting weekly
Trauma-informed, culturally grounded care through MMF health programs
One warm handoff: no resident is sent across the city for a form
Three ways back into paid work
Work is offered, never demanded. Every track pays a real wage and counts toward certification or a permanent role.
Build-your-own-home trades track
Months 5 – 12 of construction
Residents earn a wage and certified apprentice hours assembling the flat-packed kits that become their own street.
4,000 – 6,000 paid on-site hours
- Framing and panel erection
- Spray-foam and building envelope
- Hydronic PEX and plumbing rough-in
- Electrical finishing, drywall and cabinetry
MMF ISET wage subsidy · LRCC apprenticeship support
Village social enterprises
Permanent, year-round
The village runs on paid work done by the people who live in it, with surplus produce sold into Winnipeg markets.
10 – 15 ongoing full and part-time roles
- Greenhouse and market garden technicians
- District boiler, solar and water systems operator
- 15-passenger shuttle driver
- Hub coordinator, kitchen and Elder care assistants
- Grounds, snow clearing and maintenance crew
Greenhouse revenue · village operating budget · Hydro net billing
CentrePort career pipeline
Ongoing placement
Rosser hosts CentrePort Canada. Transport is the usual barrier to those jobs; the village shuttle removes it.
Full-time industrial wages, 5 minutes away
- Warehouse and logistics
- Freight, trucking and dispatch
- Advanced manufacturing and aerospace
- Rail and trimodal terminal operations
Employer partnerships · Manitoba apprenticeship pathways
Breaking the welfare wall
The trap today
On standard EIA, taking a job triggers benefit clawbacks and market rent at the same moment. Work makes people poorer, so they stay put.
What this village proposes
Shelter cost here is locked at $600 a month whatever a resident earns, and $250 of it keeps building their own equity. Earning more never costs you your home.
Move-in day
Key in hand, no preconditions, EIA shelter covers the $600
Month 6
Paid apprentice hours on site; $1,500 already in personal escrow
Year 2
Employed or certified; $6,000 escrow, rent still $600
Year 10
$30,000 paid out in cash, or stay and keep building
Building a better community, not just shelter
Shared meals at the Elders' hall
A community kitchen serving weekly feasts and daily soup, staffed by residents and stocked from the garden.
Childcare and the play area
Car-free interior streets and a supervised play area so parents can take a shift, a course, or a night class.
Culture, language and ceremony
Michif language nights, jigging, beadwork and fiddle circles led by Elders in residence.
The garden dividend
Every household receives free produce worth $100 a month from the 2.5-acre garden and commercial greenhouse.
Resident council
Residents elect their own council to set house rules, allocate the enterprise roles and hold operations to account.
Peer mentorship
Journeypersons and steady working households mentor neighbours coming straight off the street.