Brandon library teams up with Ask Auntie to create downtown resource hub
Ask Auntie case manager available during opening hours, offering mental health, housing and social supports
A new community support hub inside Brandon’s downtown Westman Regional Library is bringing social services directly to one of the southwestern Manitoba city’s busiest public spaces, in an effort to connect vulnerable people with the help they need.
Destiny Thompson, a case manager with Ask Auntie — a Brandon Friendship Centre program that offers guidance and resources to vulnerable and Indigenous communities — has been working out of the downtown library since November, in an office located inside the foyer.
Most of her work happens informally, like meeting people over a puzzle or starting a conversation, and then connecting them to resources.
"I get to see everything first-hand," she said. "I understand … situations a little better for our people."
She's typically at the library from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday to Friday. Her mornings often start by checking in with people already in the library, many of whom are at their most vulnerable, she says.
There’s a clear need for an "auntie" in the library, to provide compassionate support, and sometimes tough love, said Thompson.
Brandon, which had a population of over 54,000 as of the last census, lacks a daytime drop-in space after the closure of the Blue Door in spring 2025 due to escalating violence.
Thompson says that means more vulnerable people are using the library as a space to spend the day.
The Brandon outreach program is similar to others across Canada, Thompson said, including a revamped support hub in Winnipeg’s Millennium that opened in October and a Toronto Public Library support program that has recently expanded.
Growing needs
Western Manitoba Regional Library director Erika Martin says Ask Auntie helps bridge gaps between library patrons, security and staff.
The library has seen a noticeable increase in the number of daytime visitors in the last five years, Martin says.
"It’s a community living room.… A lot of people need somewhere that's warm and safe and welcoming and accessible," she said.
"I kind of think of the library as the last place that you can loiter in this world."
According to Brandon's homeless individuals families information system, a database that tracks homelessness in the city, there were 821 unhoused people in the city in 2025, down from 909 in 2024, but experts warn those numbers may be an undercount.
At the same time, visitor numbers have grown at the library, along with security challenges, Martin said. The library added a security guard to help manage safety concerns, but that enforcement strained relationships with some patrons, she said.
"A lot of times when we have to ask someone to leave, it's kind of disheartening to leave them at the door," Martin said.
But now, "if you know there's support … and understanding on the other end of it, that feels a lot more compassionate."
Having Ask Auntie in the library marks a shift from focusing on security to focusing on support, Martin said. The "aunties" are already working in the community, and not building relationships from scratch, she said.
"It makes people feel more comfortable and relaxed. They maybe might find security threatening in some way," said Martin. "It’s two different approaches that can work together really well."
The partnership is part of a broader effort to strengthen Brandon’s downtown through collaborations with other organizations including Westman Immigrant Services, the Brandon Downtown Development Corporation and the Downtown BIZ, Martin said.
"If we just work with somebody else and not try to duplicate and dilute what we're doing on our own, I think we can gain a lot," Martin said.
"There is something new, some pride.… It's not trying to make downtown something that it's not. It's finding the beauty in what's already there."
Help on the ground
Travis Norris says he's been visiting Thompson at the library almost daily.
"She cares about every single person that walks in this library," said Norris, who has been homeless for five months.
While a shelter and drop-in are available at night, daytime options are limited, he said. That makes a safe, warm space like the library a popular destination.
"Destiny will talk to you and she will respect every word you say," he said. "We need more people like Destiny around."
Norris says if he ever feels unsafe, he’ll let security know — but he's most likely to tell Thompson first.
His hope is together, they can resolve any issues so no one gets hurt.
Thomson says trust is key to her work, and being a consistent presence is the library has already helped her de-escalate situations that could have led to violence and helped connect people to support, she said.
"An auntie is the only one that can love you like a mom but also, you know, be supportive in other ways."
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