The Mothering Project was developed to provide enhanced supports for mothers who are pregnant or have young children, and who struggle with substance use. With help from the Mount Carmel Clinic Foundation, a new space dedicated to the program was renovated in 2016.
It took another four years of fundraising to reach the goal of renovating the Anne Ross Day Nursery, located adjacent to the main clinic building. These renovations made the building fully accessible and allowed for an additional eight daycare spaces to be made available to the community.
Several new services were made available at the clinic, including chiropractic services, and the student-run WISH clinic, a partnership with the University of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.
Created through the At Home/Chez Soi research project of the Mental Health Commission of Canada, ACT provides housing support to some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable and at-risk community members by employing a housing first model.
The Mount Carmel Clinic Foundation began a capital campaign in 2005 to fund substantial renovations to the clinic. By 2008, the clinic was able to execute phase one of the renovations: the retrofitting of 888 Main Street—the old bank building donated by CIBC--to house its administrative offices and outreach services.
Upon the completion of the new clinic, focus quickly moved to the goal of raising funds for a building to house the clinic’s day nursery program, which provided supports for children ages 2 – 5 years. The MCC board of directors approved plans for the new building in 1983, and by 1985 the newly named Anne Ross Day Nursery was complete.
As the clinic continued to grow, it became clear that finding a much larger and permanent location for the clinic was necessary. After a decade of fundraising and a significant capital contribution from the government, a new building for Mount Carmel Clinic was constructed at 886 Main Street.
The clinic advocated for those living in low-income situations, and pushed the government to provide better housing options and more public housing. This contributed to the eventual establishment of the Neighbourhood Improvement Program in 1974, a tri-governmental housing program with the goal of improving housing across Canada.
Anne Ross was hired in the early 1940s as one of the clinic’s first paid staff members, and quickly became a figurehead for the clinic. In 1964 she was formally appointed as executive director which allowed her the ability to speak on behalf of the clinic and implement new ideas. She was integral to the shaping of the clinic’s model of service and the development of many of the programs that still exist at the clinic today.
Over the course of two decades, the clinic went from seeing 3 to 4 patients per day, to seeing upwards of 120 patients each day. Mount Carmel Clinic’s services grew to include dental care, family planning resources, mental health supports, and a day nursery.