Siloam Mission, 300 Princess Street (HANDOUT)
The province’s commitment to increase the employment and income assistance (EIA) shelter allowance has the approval of Siloam Mission, but the four-year phase in period doesn’t sit well with the Winnipeg homeless shelter.
The rate increases to 75 percent of the median market rent, but the speed of the increase does not address the urgency of the situation, says the shelter.
“We are seeing more and more people tapping into our services because they are unable to sustain basic needs on their current benefits,” said Floyd Perras, executive director of Siloam Mission. “The cost of living has far outpaced the rate, actual shelter costs are climbing, and more people are slipping into crisis, on the brink of homelessness.”
Siloam says the delay would mean that the actual EIA shelter rate increase for a recipient in a one-bedroom market rent apartment in Winnipeg would only be about $20 per month, far below what would actually be needed to maintain that rent.
“A four-year delay will continue to place people in an increasingly vulnerable situation.”
— Staff
