Indigenous group seeks reporting system for the homeless
An Indigenous organization is spearheading efforts to develop a system that could make it easier to flag when a person experiencing homelessness is missing.
It comes after the slayings of four women last year in Winnipeg by an alleged serial killer.
Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre, a community service provider in the city, is leading the conversation with other agencies, including homeless shelters, on how best to protect vulnerable individuals while also respecting their privacy.
One possibility is a database of shelter and agency clients that can be shared between groups. Another, already underway at one shelter, is training staff to look out for predatory behaviour.
“We have nothing in terms of the ability to monitor their wellbeing outside those places of refuge,” said Sandra DeLaronde, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, who is working with Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata on next steps.
Other than offering a person
temporary shelter, she said, agencies are limited in what they can do to address safety concerns.
Jeremy Skibicki is charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Morgan Harris, Marcedes Myran, Rebecca Contois and an unidentified woman who Indigenous leaders have called Mashkode Bizhiki’ikwe, or Buffalo Woman.
Police believe the women were killed over a two-month period last spring.
The partial remains of Contois were discovered in a garbage bin in May 2022 and at a city-run landfill the following month. The bodies of the three others have not been found.
Police have not said how Skibicki is alleged to have known the women.
Family members have said the three identified women were vulnerable, and experienced periods of homelessness and addictions.
Little is known about the unidentified victim. Police believe she is an Indigenous woman in her mid-20s and was killed on or about March 15.
Police haven’t released any updates on their investigation into her identity.
DeLaronde said Indigenous women often move to large, urban areas seeking safety from what they are experiencing in their homes or home communities. And they don’t want to be identified.
The question then becomes how can agencies support them, she said. DeLarond said she would like to see shelters and agencies have conversations with their clients about what staff can do if they don’t hear from them.
“Develop a plan with them at the outset that allows for some kind of capacity for outreach and the safety check,” said DeLaronde.
Police do not limit who can report someone missing, but they are limited in what they can do if an adult chooses to cut off contact.
“Whoever reports it will have to articulate reasons they believe this person is truly missing or their safety is in jeopardy,” said Winnipeg policeConst. Dani McKinnon.