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Indigenous-Led Family Reunification Program in Winnipeg set to shut down
Steven SukkauLocal Journalism Initiative ReporterWinnipeg Sun
On Friday morning, Cindy Huckerby says her bank gave her a choice: catch up the mortgage on Geoffrey’s Garden or staff wouldn’t get paid. She and her partner pulled together $6,300 out of their own pockets to make it happen, a $6,000 deposit on Tuesday, followed by another $300 after the bank called to say the payment still fell short. It was just enough to push payroll through and buy the program one more week.
That’s how precarious things have become for Geoffrey’s Garden, an Indigenous-led family reunification home on Maryland Street that has helped dozens of parents stay sober, reunite with their children and avoid the child-welfare system. After nearly a year of unanswered appeals to the province and the abrupt loss of federal funding, the 10-unit program is poised to close this week.
“I’ve maxed out my personal lines of credit and the organization’s,” Huckerby said in an interview. “Every dollar I can find is going to keep the doors open a few more days. We’re out of time.”
Founded in 2020 and guided by Indigenous teachings and the Seven Sacred Laws, Geoffrey’s Garden provides transitional housing and intensive wraparound supports for parents who have completed detox and are rebuilding stable homes: 12-Step programming, addictions counselling, parenting classes, weekly accountability testing, cultural ceremony, and reunification planning with Child and Family Services (CFS). Many families are referred through the courts or child-welfare agencies.
Since opening, Huckerby says:
77% of graduated parents remained sober for at least one year.
49 children were reunited with their families.
The program avoided an estimated $7.6 million in provincial foster-care costs, with another $2.7 million a year in savings projected even if it closed today.
“Graduates are finishing high school, going to college, getting jobs, and crucially, they’re not returning to addiction, incarceration, or child welfare,” she said. “That’s the legacy of Geoffrey’s Garden.”
Funding collapsed; pleas went nowhere
Huckerby says the crisis began when Jordan’s Principle funding halted in November 2024, leaving the charity $938,000 in arrears. She contacted multiple provincial ministries for emergency support, arguing it would cost the province less to keep families together than to apprehend children, hospitalize parents or send them back to jail.
Premier Wab Kinew: “No response,” she said.
Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine: After months of emails, staff replied there were no funds available.
Addictions & Homelessness Minister Bernadette Smith: Determined the program wasn’t under her mandate, Huckerby said, despite every parent arriving post-detox.
Justice Minister Matt Wiebe: Also declined, even with residents ordered by a provincial judge to serve sentences at Geoffrey’s Garden rather than in custody.
“If that same mom were in Headingley, the province would pay,” Huckerby said. “Because she’s here, stabilizing, parenting, healing, they won’t. How does that make sense?”
Huckerby provided recent letters from CFS outlining families required to enter Geoffrey’s Garden as part of reunification plans, but noting agencies had no funds to cover placement. “Six months after I first wrote, Families sent me grant links, every one of them expired, some by two years,” she said.
Huckerby warns closure will cascade through multiple systems; CFS, courts, jails, ERs and detox beds. “We’ll see apprehensions, relapses, and re-incarcerations. The province will pay far more to manage crisis than to invest in healing.”
Provincial response
In a statement, Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine said the province recognizes the importance of organizations like Geoffrey’s Garden but noted the program has historically been funded through federal Jordan’s Principle dollars.
In a statement, Nahanni Fontaine, Manitoba’s Families Minister, said the province recognizes the importance of Geoffrey’s Garden’s work, describing it as “vital” to helping families heal and reunite.
Fontaine said the department had shared provincial funding opportunities with the organization earlier this year and met directly with its leadership to provide further information. She added that the province also reached out to Ottawa on Geoffrey’s behalf.
“We’ve written twice to the federal government, this spring and again after that meeting, to advocate on behalf of continued Jordan’s Principle funding and seek clarity on how Ottawa will fund all organizations supported through Jordan’s Principle,” Fontaine said.
The minister noted the program has historically been funded through federal streams, not the province.
“While the province doesn’t directly fund that program, we continue to invest in reunification supports across Manitoba,” she said, pointing to initiatives like Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata’s Family Group Conferencing, Granny’s House operated by Blue Thunderbird, and the Anne Oake Centre, where the province invested $1.5 million.
“This work matters deeply,” Fontaine added, “and we’ll keep looking at every possible way to strengthen the supports families need to stay together.”
A community beyond programming
Beyond formal programming, Geoffrey’s Garden keeps ties with graduates, helping navigate schools, childcare, and life’s crises. “When you come through our doors, you become part of a community. One mom just marked four years sober; she still calls when she needs help. That continuity is what keeps families together.”
The looming shutdown comes as Fontaine has publicly supported more funding for foster-parent training. Huckerby doesn’t dispute that need, but says it misses the point.
“We don’t need more money to separate families,” she said. “We need investment that keeps children with parents who’ve done the hard work of recovery. What we do isn’t just social work, it’s nation rebuilding.”
What’s next
With staff layoffs imminent and the building at risk of being vacated, Geoffrey’s Garden is appealing to the public, community allies and government for immediate help. The organization can issue charitable tax receipts.
“Every day we remain open, we keep families together, and we save the province money,” Huckerby said. “But more than that, we give families hope.”
To learn more, visit geofferysgarden.org or contact Cindy at cindy@ggfml.org
