The city’s largest homeless shelter has appointed its third chief executive officer in five years.
Sonia Prevost-Derbecker has been tapped to lead Siloam Mission after a nationwide search that attracted more than 1,100 applicants, the organization announced Wednesday.
“After an extensive search, we are delighted to bring Sonia back to Winnipeg for work, the place she has called home her whole life,” board chair Tracey Silagy said in a news release. “Siloam Mission is at an important moment in its history. We were seeking a leader who will honour our mission and values while guiding the organization through the next phase of its work to end chronic homelessness. Sonia brings the experience, relationships, and leadership approach to do just that.”
MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS FILES
Sonia Prevost-Derbecker, CEO of Siloam Mission
Prevost-Derbecker, who will be formally introduced in her new role on Friday, brings “expertise in housing, mental health, child welfare, education, and community development. Her career has focused on strengthening systems of care, building effective partnerships, and responding to community-identified needs,” the release said.
“One of the aspects that most strongly drew me to Siloam is its commitment to caring for the whole person,” Prevost-Derbecker said in the release. “Supporting physical needs alongside emotional and spiritual well-being reflects both my Indigenous and Christian values. Healing, at its core, is about being grounded in who we are, where we come from, and having hope that allows us to live into our full potential.”
Prevost-Derbecker previously served as global director of Indigenous men’s mental health programs with Movember. She has also had leadership roles with Indspire, Point Douglas Revitalization Initiative, Ndinawemaaganag Endaawaad (Ndinawe), All Nations Coordinated Response Child and Family Services, and the Métis Child and Family Services Board.
She succeeds Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, who left the position in January 2025 to join the provincial government as a senior adviser on homelessness to Premier Wab Kinew and to lead Manitoba’s Your Way Home strategy.
Blaikie Whitecloud had taken the helm at Siloam in late 2021, replacing Jim Bell, a former executive with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who resigned amid accusations the shelter was not meeting the spiritual needs of its Indigenous community members.
Following Blaikie Whitecloud’s departure, Julianne Aitken, Siloam’s director of services, served as interim CEO.
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
Prevost-Derbecker enters the position at a time when chronic homelessness has never been higher in the city. End Homelessness Winnipeg’s tracker suggests more than 900 people experience chronic homelessness.
In its latest street census, End Homelessness tallied 2,469 homeless people during one day of the census period — higher than any count since it began the initiative in 2015.
That was a 97 per cent increase compared with the previous census, when 1,256 homeless people were counted over a 24-hour period in 2022.
“Ending chronic homelessness is complex,” Prevost-Derbecker said. “It requires meeting people where they are, understanding root causes, and providing the supports that allow housing to truly be a foundation for stability and well-being. Siloam’s approach reflects this understanding, and I’m honoured to be part of carrying it forward.”
scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
Every piece of reporting Scott produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.