Homes for Heroes Receives First Permits for 25-Home Veterans Project in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, After Four-Year Delay

Veterans’ House Canada, an Ottawa-based national non-profit, offers permanent, affordable and supportive housing to veterans. The organization opened its first supportive housing project in Canada’s capital in 2021, and it is preparing to open a second in Edmonton, with a grand opening scheduled for next week. Some people in Winnipeg would like to see a similar model come to their city.

The first project, the Andy Carswell Building, is located at the former site of Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe. It has 40 bachelor units and offers programs including addiction services, mental health supports, and employment and financial literacy help.

Veterans’ House says there are thousands of homeless veterans in Canada and that people who have served in the country’s military are more likely to experience homelessness than the general population. Executive director Alan Mulawyshyn, who spent four decades with the Canadian Armed Forces, said the Ottawa complex has housed veterans from across the country, from Newfoundland to British Columbia.

“We’ve saved lives,” Mulawyshyn said. He added that he has seen veterans overcome struggles such as mental health issues and addiction, becoming happier people who have reconnected with family and wider society.

Mulawyshyn said more permanent supportive housing facilities are in the works in Victoria, Toronto and Halifax. Cohen Rutledge, provincial executive director with the Royal Canadian Legion’s Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario Provincial Command, said he would like to see Manitoba’s capital added to that list in time. Rutledge said Veterans’ House “really hit the nail on the head” by including wraparound supports within its housing complexes. He also said homelessness among veterans should not be addressed with a “one size fits all” approach, noting that some veterans might benefit from permanent supportive housing while others may need transitional housing or help with expenses like rent or bills.

Mulawyshyn said the charity is not looking at building in Winnipeg yet, because there are greater needs elsewhere. The organization plans to keep an eye on local data while it waits to see what happens with a long-awaited transitional housing project for veterans in the city.

That project is the Winnipeg Kinsmen Veterans Village, announced more than four years ago by the Homes for Heroes Foundation, a Calgary-based charity that works to provide veterans with affordable homes and support. The foundation’s president and CEO, Brad Field, said the organization recently received its first set of permits for a 25-home project in the Transcona area. Construction is expected to start in the next two or three weeks.

At a July sod-turning ceremony, Field said he expected permits would arrive “in the next couple of days.” At that time, he said the project had been delayed by fundraising challenges, an environmental issue and “bureaucracy” at various levels of government. Field told CBC News on Wednesday, “It’s been a little bit of a long haul in Winnipeg, but we’re finally there.”

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