For Immediate Release
Monday, April 25, 2022
New space provides a welcoming environment for individuals in need of basic items, access to social supports
Winnipeg, MB – Today the City of Winnipeg opened Community Connections, a space within the Millennium Library that will connect individuals with library services and social supports, including items to help meet basic needs.
Staffed by Winnipeg Public Library employees, including Community Crisis Workers, Community Connections is designed to be a welcoming space for visitors who may face challenges using the larger library space on their own, or who require additional services not offered in the library. Community agencies will also be hosted in the space to further connect visitors with social supports.
The library’s Community Crisis Workers and community agencies will offer information on a range of services, including:
· Shelter and housing
· Social assistance, benefits, employment, and ID assistance
· Mental health and addiction services
· Food security and other basic needs
Other public amenities in Community Connections include:
· Fridge, microwave, coffee maker, water, coffee, tea, and light snacks for people in need
· A meeting pod for community agencies to meet with clients
· Phone for public use
· A computer, Wi-Fi, and device charging
· Washroom with sharps disposal container
The Government of Canada provided $177,000 through the Canada Community Revitalization funding program towards the creation of Community Connections. The total budget for the project is $236,000.
“The Millenium Library is at the heart of our city's downtown and an important part of our community,” said The Honourable Daniel Vandal, Minister for PrairiesCan. “Our government is working together with the City of Winnipeg to ensure local residents have access to much-needed community supports and social services. The City of Winnipeg’s Community Connections space will help create a positive, secure, and welcoming environment for all.”
“The Community Connections space opening at Millennium Library is a significant milestone, and the result of collaboration with Indigenous community leadership and community organizations to make a Millennium for All” said Sherri Rollins, Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Protection, Community Services and Parks. “Whether people want to warm up or cool down, or find assistance from the library’s Community Crisis Workers to connect to services, this is meant to be a space of community care built for and by community.”
For more information on Community Connections, including operating hours, please visit: www.winnipeg.ca/communityconnections