Siloam Mission

You can help make our vision of a Winnipeg without Chronic Homelessness a reality. Find out more about these opportunities at siloam.ca/careers.

Tomorrow is International Overdose Awareness Day. It's a day to remember without stigma those who have died, acknowledging the grief of those left behind. If you're in the area today, there is an event at the MB Legislative Building from 10 AM - 1 PM to help raise awareness and honour those who have been lost.    This is a crisis that claims the lives of more than 20 Canadians every single day. At Siloam Mission, our staff are regularly reversing drug poisonings (also referred to as overdoses), performing life-saving work far too often.    Ways to prevent and reduce drug poisonings exist. We know that, in most cases, substance use is a response to trauma – making it a healthcare issue.    In July, a way forward was announced to help Winnipeg combat this health crisis: a safer consumption site. Safer consumption sites have been proven to reduce harm, save lives, and offer stigma-free pathways to treatment and recovery.    We have seen proof of this at Siloam. As we transitioned from a sober entry policy to a behaviour based policy, we saw more people asking about treatment for their substance use. By reducing the stigma about usage, more people have entered into treatment – potentially saving their lives.    Understandably there are questions and concerns that arise when safer consumption sites are brought up.   ▫ They do not become a free-for-all, allowing people to use whatever substance they’d like with no repercussions. ▫ They do not encourage substance use. Instead, they provide a safer environment for people who are already using substances. ▫ They do not attract crime. Instead, they reduce crime by providing a safer and supervised space for substance use ― reducing public substance use and associated criminal activity. Safer consumption sites prevent people from resorting to using behind buildings, in back alleys, and parks.  ▫ It is actually the criminalization of substance use that is primarily responsible for the crime-related impacts often cited when opposing safer consumption sites.   If you are curious to learn more, you can find information: ◾ about International Overdose Awareness Day at www.overdoseday.com    ◾ about safer consumption sites, including statistics about existing sites across Canada at https://lnkd.in/gm5JajE3

It's our birthday tomorrow! Since August 24, 1987, we’ve been transforming lives in Winnipeg through emergency shelter, meals, housing, and more. If you’re passionate about making an impact, explore our career opportunities at siloam.ca/careers

Community collaboration is essential to what we do. Thanks for inviting us to help! 🙏

We've officially started and harvested from our vertical farm! Our first batch of seedlings were planted in June and have already been used for lunch! Thanks so much to everyone who made this possible, especially Little Greenhouse That Could. The basil and lettuce we’ve harvested so far have been delicious, and we’re looking forward to meals featuring these fresh greens in the future.

Do you have a passion for helping people? Are you interested in working to eliminate chronic homelessness? You may be exactly who we're looking for. Visit siloam.ca/careers to read more about these positions and apply.

Today is International Day of The World’s Indigenous Peoples, a day to celebrate Indigenous people around the world and the knowledge they hold. If you're not familiar with it, today may be a good day to check out the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). It's the basis for the continuing work of the Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, and other similar work around the world.

Our Summer Newsletter is live! You can find the stories on our blog, they're the most recent stories posted: https://lnkd.in/e5VcJ9Fw We have the story of Dave, one of our long-time volunteers in the Drop In; a story about housing and everyone who helped make our newest supportive housing facility a home; and some myth-busting using information we've gathered from our shelter.

Today is the Anniversary of the Signing of Treaty One. On this day in 1871, seven First Nations came together with the Crown at Lower Fort Garry to sign the Treaty. We remind ourselves of the intention behind the signing of the Treaties through our land acknowledgements, just as we remind ourselves of the other Original Peoples of this land—both those who signed treaties and those who did not. If you want to learn more about how the treaty came about and the relationships that developed after from an Indigenous perspective, today is your opportunity to do so. Three years ago was the 150th anniversary of the signing of Treaty One, and the City of Winnipeg spoke with Elder Ruth Norton from Sagkeeng First Nation about how the treaty came about and the relationships that have come from it. You can find it on their YouTube page: https://lnkd.in/gEzQY_5M

In March of 2023, Siloam made a change, shifting from a sobriety requirement to behaviour-based entry. What this means is that, instead of being (or seeming) sober to be allowed to enter, there are behavioural expectations. After speaking with community members and staff, and studying best practices, three expectations were chosen: - We are Safe - We are Respectful - We are Focused on Needs We cannot help someone find housing if they do not have access to our services. If we truly believe that every human is housable, we need to make sure that every human has access to the help we can offer. Fundamentally, being behaviour-based comes out of this belief. When sobriety was the basis for entry into our space it put a barrier in the way for many folks who had been impacted by significant trauma. It also created a stigma and encouraged folks to hide their substance use. By being behaviour-based we can lower the barrier, recognize substance use as a response to trauma, and reduce the stigma – ensuring that we can, if folks are wanting us to, help as many people as possible. So, in practice, how does this work? - Everyone who can live up to our space’s expectations is welcome. - Staff responses are consistent and offer the calm of predictability. - Sobriety is no longer a requirement for service. - Restorative practices that target the root causes are in place when folks need to take a break due to behaviour. So far we've seen that violence against staff is down, from 31 incidents in the 2021-2022 FY to 19 in the 2022-2023 FY. We've also seen a significant increase in folks approaching for treatment. We're expecting to have even more data to share soon, as we've been working within these expectations for over a year now. We look forward to sharing even more information as it becomes available.