1 week Ago By By Michele McDougall
The Men’s Resource Centre in downtown Brandon has suspended three of its community programs until security concerns and other issues are “thoroughly addressed,” the group said in a social media post on Thursday. Read this article for free: Already have an account? As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed. Now, more than ever, we need your support.
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The Men’s Resource Centre in downtown Brandon has suspended three of its community programs until security concerns and other issues are “thoroughly addressed,” the group said in a social media post on Thursday. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? The Men’s Resource Centre in downtown Brandon has suspended three of its community programs until security concerns and other issues are “thoroughly addressed,” the group said in a social media post on Thursday. Ross Robinson, executive director of the John Howard Society, which operates the centre, said it is a proactive and “temporary” pause.
“We haven’t had any issue here,” Robinson said. “We’re just being proactive because we’ve seen that the demand for our services has risen greater than what we can provide, and we need to be able to navigate this properly and safely. In this file photo, executive director Ross Robinson stands in the John Howard Society offices.
The society has suspended three programs it offers under the Men’s Resource Centre due to security concerns and other issues, Robinson says. (File “So we’re shutting down the group stuff until we can figure out how we’re going to manage the demand on our services,” he said. “It’s not something that I’m going to let our staff do on the fly at the door.
I’ve seen the work they have done and I’m very proud of how they manage these large groups of people. But at any moment, with the wrong characters, this could not be the safest place. “So, rather than reacting afterwards, we want to be proactive and do things before there are any regrets.
” The Men’s Resource Centre is located at 153 Eighth St., and the three programs that are on pause are Open Resource, Community Connections, and Coffee and Conversations, which was a guided conversation to break down barriers and build relationships. Open Resources helped individuals navigate housing as well as making resumés, and Community Connections brought resources to the centre to give the clientele “greater awareness” about services that are available to them.
The rest of the programming is still ongoing, but accessing it is by appointment only. The decision to pause the three programs was not an easy one, said Robinson, and centre co-ordinator Darian Kennedy said he agreed, but added the time was right. “Retooling is more ideal right now than it would have been two months ago,” Kennedy said.
“We felt more compelled to continue at the capacity because of the severe weather that we’ve had within the last four months or so. “Moving forward, it seems like a good time to pause and retool our policies regarding capacity so that we don’t run into an issue at the door or turning people away, and that becomes violent,” he said. “So, this really is a proactive approach to try to mitigate those risks and security concerns.
” The programming that will still be offered by appointment only includes Men’s Group, delivered in collaboration with Addiction Services, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. When asked about a timeline for when the three paused programs might resume, Robinson said he preferred not to give a date, as more discussion is needed with the John Howard Society’s board of directors and centre staff. Their existing programming may even benefit from the change, he added.
“What we’ve tried to do here at the John Howard Society is provide a quality interaction every time,” Robinson said. “I believe that we’ll get better success out of working very closely with six people, than just working on an ad hoc basis with 30.” For more information about programming at the Men’s Resource Centre, call 204-727-1696.
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