The Centre de santé Saint-Boniface serves a diverse community with varying needs. The catchment area includes all French-speaking people in the city of Winnipeg and all people in the Saint-Boniface and St-Vital neighbourhoods. The Saint-Boniface Health Centre welcomes all French-speaking newcomers. 

The Centre de santé Saint-Boniface opened in 1999 to meet the specific needs of the Francophone community in Winnipeg and the Saint-Boniface neighbourhood. It is the only designated Francophone community health agency in Manitoba, offering bilingual primary health services. Access to health services in French is a fundamental right for all Francophones in Manitoba, protected by various laws, regulations and policies. 

Over the years, the centre has made several notable achievements: 

• Creation of the Indigenous Relations and DEI Manager position: This position was created to better meet the needs of Indigenous populations and to promote equity, diversity and inclusion. 

• Establishment of the Innovation Department: This department focuses on developing new approaches and solutions to improve the services offered. 

• Creation of the Advisory Circle: This circle allows for the collection of opinions and suggestions from community members to improve services. 

• Adaptation of care: Care has been adapted to better meet the specific needs of the population served. 

• Introduction of “Lunch and Learn”: These sessions allow staff to train and discuss relevant topics during the lunch break. 

• Organization of Development Days: These days are dedicated to the training and professional development of staff. 

• Community Walks with Huddle: These walks provide an opportunity to meet and support vulnerable people in the community. 

• Continuing Education: The Centre regularly organizes training for staff, including on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, mental health, and the use of new technological tools 

Dwayne Larson Photography. Taken at Centre de Santé Saint Boniface gala.

The needs of the community served by the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface have evolved significantly over the years. Initially, the Centre was opened to meet the specific needs of Winnipeg’s Francophone community and the Saint-Boniface neighbourhood. Over time, the diversity of the population has increased, resulting in a continuous adaptation of services to meet a variety of needs. We have also expanded our mandate to include the St-Vital neighbourhood. 

The Centre de santé Saint-Boniface has also evolved to include strengthened mental health services, recruitment strategies to ensure succession, and efforts to reach underserved populations. For example, the Centre has set up walk-in clinics to meet immediate health needs and has developed harm reduction programs. 

The Centre de santé Saint-Boniface has encountered several significant barriers in serving its clients. For example, the centre has had to face challenges related to the increasing diversity of the population, which has required continuous adaptation of services to meet a variety of needs, especially those of newcomers. In addition, the pandemic has been very difficult for many clients with health issues. 

In addition to these challenges, the centre has also had to overcome barriers related to access to health services for underserved populations. For example, the Centre has set up walk-in clinics to meet immediate health needs and ensured the distribution of harm reduction tools. 

We continue to work with our clients to adapt our services and meet their priority needs. The walk-in clinic, the distribution of harm reduction tools, the community walks, the adaptations of our class programming to meet the needs of newcomers are just a few examples. We are working to better support the Francophone community living with HIV so that their services are offered in the language of their choice. 

Dwayne Larson Photography. Taken at Centre de Santé Saint Boniface gala

Looking to the future, the Saint-Boniface Health Centre aspires to continue to evolve to better meet the needs of the Francophone community of Winnipeg and the neighbourhoods of Saint-Boniface and St-Vital. Here are some of the hopes and vision for the next 5 to 10 years: 

• Strengthening mental health services: The Centre plans to expand and strengthen its mental health services to better meet the growing needs of the community. 

• Continued innovation: The Centre aims to continue to innovate by developing new approaches and solutions to improve the services offered. 

• Community engagement: The Centre aims to strengthen its engagement with the community by creating more programs and initiatives that meet the specific needs of residents. 

• Increased accessibility: The Centre hopes to improve the accessibility of its services for underserved populations, including newcomers and vulnerable populations. 

In addition to these objectives, the Centre de santé Saint-Boniface also plans to: 

• Develop strategic partnerships: The Centre plans to strengthen its partnerships with other community and health organizations to offer integrated and comprehensive services. 

• Promote equity, diversity and inclusion: The Centre will continue to promote equity, diversity and inclusion through its programs and initiatives, particularly as they relate to Indigenous populations. 

• Improve continuing education: The Centre wishes to offer more continuing education for its staff in order to guarantee high-quality and up-to-date care. The Director General’s desire would be to open a second Health Centre in order to double the number of clients served and to open its borders to Francophones south of the city of Winnipeg. 

Congratulations on 25 years of impact, Centre de santé Saint-Boniface! 

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