First published on CBC Manitoba
An event in Steinbach this week gave rural Manitobans a one-stop shop to access a range of government and community services.
The South East Equity Coalition — a group of 20 Steinbach service organizations — ran the "Get Your Benefits" event on Tuesday at Soup's On, the city's soup kitchen, and plans to offer similar service clinics three times a year.
The clinics offer people help with services like getting ID, filing taxes, applying for disability benefits, finding housing and more, all in one location.
"It's not often that you come here and you see all these organizations in the same place, so it's very helpful," said Mohamud Mohamed, a Somali refugee living in Steinbach.
"You don't need to run all the way to Winnipeg," he said — a more than 50-kilometre drive that can be a challenge for people who don't have their own transportation.
Mohamud Mohamed needed help filing taxes after coming to Canada as a refugee from Somalia. He found that help and more at a service clinic held by South East Equity Coalition in Steinbach this week. (Christopher Gareau/CBC)
He was able to get assistance with filing his taxes and with creating a financial plan to help him move forward with his life.
"This information is power," said Mohamed.
Emily Lewchuk was told about Tuesday's clinic by Soup's On. Getting to Winnipeg to connect with services is hard for Lewchuk, because she does not drive.
She came to learn how to access disability benefits and create a financial plan, and to get help finding a job as a cook.
Her specialty is spaghetti, she said.
"For me, because I have a disability, it would just make a lot of things easier, because it's kind of hard to get a job without a job coach," said Lewchuk.
Rent assistance and financial planning tables were set up beside tables staffed by Service Canada and Eastman Immigrant Services at Tuesday's clinic. (Christopher Gareau/CBC)
While Tuesday's clinic was held at the soup kitchen, future clinics will rotate between other service locations, like housing groups and the Steinbach food bank, to encourage people who need the help the most.
"By partnering with groups like Soup's On, that program very much promotes this to their clients. So I think it helps feel like a safe space," said South East Equity Coalition member Leigh Finney.
The coalition's clinics were inspired by financial literacy programs organized by SEED (Supporting Employment and Economic Development) Winnipeg for Indigenous people.
Some at Tuesday's clinic were able to get help they didn't even know was available, like the new Canada disability benefit of up to $200 per month, which launched last year.
Gobi Kundukattil, a financial counsellor with the Winnipeg-based non-profit Community Financial, came out to the Steinbach clinic to offer people free help in getting back pay of up to two years.
"I have seen people from different backgrounds, new immigrants, seniors, families," said Kundukattil.
Being at a table beside immigration agencies, the Canada Revenue Agency and other government agencies — which can offer information on issues like residency status, social insurance numbers and tax accounts — is a good way to help people make plans that will let them reach their life goals faster, he said.
"Everything can be done on the single day," said Kundukattil, who also took part in an October services clinic held in Winkler by Central Station Community Centre, a community resource centre in that city.
Job-seeker Lewchuk, when asked what it meant to have a room full of people eager to help her, smiled.
"I just hope that everybody else in this room feels as blessed as I do today," she said.
The next services clinic in Steinbach is planned for Jan. 20 at Steinbach Community Outreach, an organization that helps people struggling with poverty and homelessness.