On the morning of January 14, around 4:00 a.m., MSP staff were alerted to a fire at the Manwin Hotel. The Manwin is located between two MSP buildings: our emergency shelter located at 637 Main St. and our food bank and admin office at 661 Main St.
150 people were evacuated from MSP’s shelter at the time of the fire. Two City busses were provided on site to ensure those evacuated from the shelter could keep warm. Some folks opted to move to the Siloam Mission, Salvation Army and N’Dinawemak shelters. 37 people were transported to Door Three of Freight House, an emergency space. This site has a capacity of 75 sleeping spots and 25 drop-in spots. We anticipate we will be operating out of this site overnight tonight and we will know more once we have access to our buildings and can conduct assessments.
661 Main St. is the central hub for our food and clothing donations and is not accessible at this time. We anticipate a large amount of the items at this site will be a total loss. We can’t accept food or clothing donations until further notice. Unfortunately, this also means we can’t operate our regular Thursday food bank day at 661 Main St.
If you are looking for ways to support:
– Make a monetary donation or buy 50/50 tickets for our January raffle: www.mainstreetproject.ca
– Donate blankets, warm clothing and winter gear to Siloam Mission or N’dinawemak and they will get supplies to us.
Thank you to our amazing MSP staff. No matter the time of day, they are looking out for the community, keeping people safe and ensuring everyone has a safe place. The adaptability and response to this crisis from MSP staff was phenomenal, as always.
Thank you to the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service and the City of Winnipeg Emergency Social Services for their quick response in keeping people safe.
Thank you to all the shelters and social service organizations who responded to calls at 6:00 a.m. and quickly mobilized to support the emergency evacuation process. Sector partners stepped up, took people in and made sure we had warm clothing, blankets, cots and mats.
Thank you to all who’ve reached out to support MSP during this challenging time. We will provide updates when we know more.
