Winnipeg, MB - For 45 years, Pan Am Boxing & Athletic Club has been a safe haven for at risk youth by keeping them off of the streets and helping them to channel their energy through sport.
This dedication to providing top quality boxing and athletic programs has now expanded with the creation of Pan Am Place, which will offer transitional housing and services to at risk males, ages 18-24, who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless.
Today, Elmwood Transcona MP Lawrence Toet and Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz jointly announced that $398,092 from the Homelessness Partnership Strategy will fund this integral community project.
Pan Am Place will strive to provide a healthy living environment by requiring all residents to participate in Pan Am Place programming which includes:
- Return to education
- Job skills development
- Nutrition and food safety
- Regular weekly exercise program (boxing training)
- Community responsibility
“Our government is helping vulnerable Canadians break free from the cycle of homelessness and poverty,” said MP Toet, on behalf of the Honourable Candice Bergen, Minister of State (Social Development). “By working with organizations such as the Pan Am Boxing and Athletic Club, we are providing youth and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in Winnipeg with transitional housing and a supportive environment to train and have fun.”
“The City of Winnipeg is proud to support Pan Am Place through the Homelessness Partnership Strategy,” said Mayor Katz. “This program offers a tremendous opportunity for at-risk young men. Pan Am Place provides a safe, stable place to live while they work toward a healthy, productive lifestyle.”
"The model is referred to as "Home" and "Family”, and we offer this to young men in Winnipeg who have neither,” said Harry Black, President of Pan Am Boxing and Pan Am Place. “We are very excited to finally open for business - the business of helping and working with approximately 30 men annually move on with their lives towards independent living."
In addition to capital funding, service delivery funding is being provided for 2 full time supervisors, 1 full time Executive Director and operating costs.
On April 25, 2012, the City of Winnipeg entered into an agreement with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) to act as the Community Entity in Winnipeg for administration of Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) funds. The agreement provided a total of $11,514,688, to be split evenly between fiscal years 2012-13 and 2013-14 ($5,757,344 per year).
The original agreement was later amended to include funding for eleven additional projects that were already in the approval process by Service Canada. The total additional funding to be administered by the City is $2,345,120, which have been added to the $11,514,666 in the original agreement for a new total of $13,859,808. Funding will continue through the contract period ending March 31, 2014.