Three years ago, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, with financial support from the Province of Manitoba, joined forces with the city's police and fire paramedic departments to help deal with an important social issue facing downtown--public intoxication. The Community Outreach Patrol Pilot Program put 10 highly-trained individuals on downtown streets to assist intoxicated people.

It is estimated over six-million dollars have been redirected back to police, fire and paramedic services since the Community Outreach Patrol Pilot Program began three years ago. The Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, along with the city's police and fire paramedic departments, put 10 highly-trained individuals on downtown streets to help deal with an important social issue facing downtown--public intoxication.

Over 3,000 emergency calls are now directed to the Outreach each year, freeing up fire, police and paramedic services to deal with higher-priority cases. The Outreach Patrol's average response time is 10 minutes or less.

Since the program started in 2007, almost 10,000 indigent individuals have been helped off the street. They have been connected with social service providers and supplied with socks, mittens, blankets, water and food. The program has helped better manage downtown public safety concerns and improved the health of those living on the street.

The Outreach has also reduced the call load at the Health Sciences Centre, resulting in almost 500 fewer intoxicated persons directed to HSC. This has freed up space; reduced wait times in the emergency room; and left doctors and nurses free to deal with more serious cases. The Outreach has also helped almost 1,900 intoxicated people into safe environments--taking them home or to a guardian for example--freeing up space and resources at the Main Street Project.

On December 31, 2009, the pilot project came to an end with these successful results. As the program's primary partners take time to assess the current jurisdiction boundaries and gather sustainable funding to make the Outreach permanent, the Province of Manitoba, City of Winnipeg and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority have provided over $250,000 in funding to keep the program running until March 2011. The Winnipeg Police and Fire Paramedic Services have also continued to provide in-kind resources.

Funding and support for this program are provided by the Winnipeg Police Service, Fire Paramedic Service, City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba, and the Federal Government of Canada under the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement. Funding was previously provided by the Governments of Canada, Manitoba and Winnipeg under the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement.

2010 Proposal to make Outreach permanent
Click here to view Making it Permanent, a presentation to downtown stakeholders
View letters of support for the Outreach Program
View letter of support from Fire & Paramedic Chief, Jim Brennan
View letters the BIZ has sent to the Minister of Justice

If you see someone who is intoxicated and in need, please call our Outreach Patrol at 958-SAFE (7233) and they will arrive quickly to help.

Program Results
The team works closely with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service, who has applauded the program and stated wait times have been drastically reduced. In the past the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service had waited on average 65 minutes to be relieved by the Winnipeg Police Service to transfer the intoxicated person. The Outreach team has reduced that waiting time to an average of 10 minutes. This has freed up tremendous amount of police, fire and paramedic resources which are needed for more urgent issues in our city. Not only is the downtown benefiting, but so is the entire city.

Making a difference: An Outreach Story
There have been many stories about how the Outreach Patrol have helped people in need on the street.

In one case, an elderly gentleman with mental health issues was travelling from British Columbia by bus and stopped for a three-hour layover in Winnipeg. He was not allowed to reboard the bus, which left him wandering the streets of downtown Winnipeg for two days.

The Outreach Patrol received a call from the bus depot security regarding an intoxicated male. When they arrived they recognized he was not intoxicated, and working with the Salvation Army, found him shelter. During the next two days an Outreach worker spent almost every hour of the day with him and eventually we were able to contact his family. We discovered he was on his way to Ottawa where his son lived and his luggage, along with his medication, was lost, which accounted for him becoming delusional. He was conveyed to a doctor to get his prescription filled, his luggage was recovered, and we renewed his bus ticket. Two days later, his son called to thank us for helping his father arrive home safely.

 Community Outreach Resource Guide

Community Outreach Patrol Program

While by no means acting as “THE” solution, the proposed Community Outreach Patrol Program would address some of these issues. The program was developed through a community consultative process and includes:

• 10 Outreach Patrol members
• Properly trained in community outreach and under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act (IPDA)
• Granted Special Constable Status to enforce IPDA
• Engage in prevention, intervention and enforcement strategies with homeless, mental health, at-risk of homelessness, or excessive intoxicant using persons
• Develop relationships with those at risk to help get people off the street and into a safer environment where healing can begin
• Create a vibrant and healthy downtown

Community Outreach Patrol Benefits

• Quick response to public intoxication incidents
• Assistance to emergency services, saving public dollars
• Public perceives downtown is safer
• Address businesses' concerns
• Assist individuals who are intoxicated and/or homeless or at-risk of homelessness

Initiative Funding:
Funding for 10 Outreach Patrols over a three-year pilot, shared by the Downtown BIZ Winnipeg Police Service, Fire Paramedic Service, City of Winnipeg and the Province of Manitoba, and the Federal Government of Canada under the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement. Funding was previously provided by the Governments of Canada, Manitoba and Winnipeg under the Winnipeg Partnership Agreement.

Measurable Results:

• Reduction in the number of street people harming themselves and others
• Help the WPS & WFPS enforce IPDA in a timely manner:
• Increase in public safety
• Increase in public perception of a safe downtown
• Resource to the WPS
• Develop relationships with those at risk to get people off the street and into a safer and healthier environment where healing can begin

Project Supporters & Partners
Downtown Winnipeg businesses
Winnipeg Police Service
Winnipeg Fire and Paramedics (WFPS)
Minister of Justice
Winnipeg Partnership Agreement
Winnipeg Regional Health Authority
Social Planning Council
Addictions Foundation of Manitoba
Union Gospel Mission
Siloam Mission
Main Street Project

Vision for a Better Downtown
The Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) believes in a vibrant and healthy downtown that is shared and enjoyed by all people, of all socio-economic levels, races, religions and sexes. Part of a successful downtown is a feeling of safety. The public and downtown businesses have expressed concern about the safety of themselves when confronted by aggressive panhandlers and intoxicated people, as well as concern for the safety of intoxicated people themselves. The Community Outreach Patrol Program represents the role the Downtown BIZ is stepping forward to take to address this issue. While it by no means will be “the” solution to the issue, we hope by working together with and supporting other groups, we can collectively move toward a long-term solution.