Our Place/Chez Nous drop-in centre closes doors after more than 3 decades of service | CBC News

A Winnipeg drop-in centre is shutting down after offering support to people in the Main Street and Higgins Avenue area for more than 30 years.

Last Tuesday, Volunteers at Our Place/Chez Nous voted to close the centre amidst growing safety concerns for those who staff it — people in their 70s and 80s.

The co-chair of the centre’s board of directors, Larry Stuart, said with the city’s rising mental health and drug crises, more people who come to the centre act aggressively.

“When we came back from COVID, the street had changed,” Stuart, 74, told CBC on Saturday. “There’s more potential for things to go off the rails in a hurry now than there has been in the past.”

Located at 676 Main St., Our Place/Chez Nous offered patrons food, clothing and other essential items for free. The centre initially opened in 1987 across the street, where Thunderbird House now stands, before moving in 1995.

Catholic Sister Jane McDonald founded the centre after seeing a need for the service in the community.

“The philosophy was, you are welcome here as you are and you will be treated with respect,” Stuart said. 

“Her idea was to just have a place for these folks to get off [the streets] and be safe … didn’t matter who they were or what their circumstances were.”

It was open each Tuesday and Thursday morning throughout the year, with the exception of July and August, when the centre would shut down to give its volunteers a break.

It also closed for three years during COVID-19 restrictions before reopening in September 2022.

‘I don’t want it to close’

The decision to close down was a difficult one to make, Stuart said, explaining that the “relevance” of the centre was another factor that came into play.

Other centres in the area already provide the same service as Our Place/Chez Nous did, and they provide those services for more than a few hours each week, Stuart said.

A volunteer who played a key role in running the centre also recently decided to step down, and the remaining volunteers weren’t sure who would fill those shoes.

“Nobody, whether they voted to close or whether they voted to keep it open, felt good,” Stuart said. “There’s some amazing people and having to sever that relationship with those folks hurts.”

The board’s other co-chair, John Tanner, also pointed to the “free security” that the centre had when former Const. Kevin Birkett used to patrol the area before COVID-19 hit. 

“He had a very calming influence on the place when he dropped in,” said Tanner.

Ultimately, 12 people from Tuesday’s vote opted to close, while the remaining six hoped to keep it open.

“It wasn’t easy,” Stuart said.

While Tanner, 82, said people who visited the centre likely won’t go hungry due to it closing, some might miss the sense of community the place offered.

“It was a place for people to meet and greet and generally get to know each other, initially just over a cup of coffee,” he told CBC News at the centre on Sunday.

“I think if there is a difference, it’s mostly emotional, that they have this connection here,” he said.

Ramona Abigosis, who lives nearby, said she used to go to the centre to have a coffee with friends or pick up some things she needed for her home.

“This place is good for me because … people just come in and we can use the services and there are really friendly people here,” she said.

“I don’t want it to close.”