The Manitoba government and an Indigenous health centre have launched a pilot project to help members of Winnipeg’s urban Indigenous community who do not have a permanent address or access to a smartphone get an alternative version of the province’s vaccine immunization card.
At the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre in Winnipeg’s north end, each morning a smudge is lit and their vaccination and COVID-19 testing sites are both smudged. It is meant to start the day off in a good way, says operations manager Marion McKenzie. It is part of building relationships within a community that often has a deep mistrust of the health care system and has been wary of many of the COVID-19 protocols established by the province.
“We’re trying to make things as easy as possible,” says Ms. McKenzie.
Through the pandemic, the centre has been providing care, counselling, testing and a vaccine clinic for the sizeable Indigenous community that lives in the neighbourhood.
One of the biggest barriers to getting the vaccine cards is lack of proper identification. Ms. McKenzie says that the pilot project will help eliminate that hurdle.
The Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre is working with Manitoba Public Insurance to help people access identification so they can then apply for the QR code that would allow them entry to a variety of venues. When clients arrive at the centre, wellness helpers sit down with them and go through the process step by step.
Ms. McKenzie says the province established a dedicated phone line for this project, which is used to obtain an individual’s client ID number that is connected to the Manitoba health card. Once clients’ ID number is entered into the vaccine passport system, they are then able to generate a QR code.
“It’s still issued by the government. The QR code is still easily readable with the QR scanners,” says Ms. McKenzie.
The QR code is printed, laminated and put into a wallet sized pouch and given to the individual on the spot.
Shauna MacKinnon, an associate professor and chair of the department of urban and inner city studies at the University of Winnipeg, says initiatives like the pilot project should be offered widely across the city so that everyone who needs to can take part.
“We’re recognizing the urgency of ensuring that people are getting what they need to be safe during the pandemic. But we’ve got to think long-term because it can’t be just one-off, where we support people during the pandemic, and then once it’s safe out there, then it all falls apart.”
Ms. McKenzie encourages status, non-status or Métis people to continue to come to the Ma Mawi Wi Chi Itata Centre for help. One of the most important services they’ve been providing is helping clients who test positive for COVID-19. In those cases, the centre helps clients every step of the way – from finding out how and where to self-isolate safely, to accessing food or finding childcare.
Workers are on site ready to assist with a variety of needs. Elders are offered rides to and from the centre, while others are given a bus ticket home. Many people who line up to get their vaccine are given the opportunity to smudge and have a snack before their appointment.
Ms. McKenzie says offering these resources helps marry the western and Indigenous ways of offering health care – and ultimately helps build trust in the community.
“That brings calmness to someone. That’s that’s all we can do, right? And that’s the best thing that we can do for our community.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story said Marion McKenzie is chief operating officer. She is, in fact, operations manager. This article also incorrected referred to a drug testing site rather than the correct COVID-19 testing site.
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