Community helpers at Portage Place are working to provide safety at dying mall
CBC
Josh Nepinak uses a word in Anishinaabemowin to describe downtown Winnipeg's dying Portage Place mall: Ishkoniganing, meaning reserve or the land that's left over.
Nepinak is leading a new community-led response to increase safety in the mall.
Portage Place Community Helpers — a paid, six-person team — is the result of a partnership between new mall owners True North Real Estate Development, Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) and a community-based organization known as O.P.K. (Ogijita Pimatisiwin Kinamatawin).
"They're walking beacons, they're community helpers, and we have let the people here know that if you are in distress or know somebody who's in distress, come to our guys with the O.P.K. badge, the green vest and the DCSP hat," Nepinak said about his youthful team.
Nepinak says that many of the regulars coming to Portage Place mall are seeking shelter, resources and connection.
He says "making sure that our relatives who are outside in the elements are able to have those necessities of life" is what concerns him most.
Similar to a greeter at Walmart, the helpers are there to make sure everyone who visits the mall feels safe, even as concerns over safety grow in the downtown area.
"The most common interaction we have is just looking someone in the eye and nodding at them as you walk past – just make sure they feel acknowledged," said team member Jack Ducak.
Ducak says the the clock tower at the centre of the mall and the food court areas are the areas with the greatest activity.
"Whenever something happens in the bathroom — like, there's a lot of overdoses in there — we bring them to the food court," he said.
The team hit the ground running on Dec. 16, 2024, their first day on the job.
Someone had experienced an overdose and was in need of immediate intervention. The team, equipped with naloxone kits and given the necessary training, was able to respond and ultimately save a life.
"These guys know what they're doing," Nepinak said of the team who are also trained in non-violent crisis intervention, CPR and first aid.
Nepinak, a member of Lake St. Martin First Nation who grew up in Winnipeg, has been volunteering as a helper in the area since June 2024, when he started a weekly walk along Portage Avenue to Vaughan Street and behind the mall on the promenade.
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