Siloam Mission, new CEO part ways

After several tumultuous months at the helm of Winnipeg’s largest homeless shelter, Siloam Mission’s chief executive officer is stepping down.

The move to part ways with Sonia Prevost-Derbecker comes as part of a “six-month organizational support plan and leadership transition” in response to challenges facing the charitable sector across Canada, a Monday news release said.

“This is a critical period of transition for Siloam,” board chair Tracey Silagy said in the release. “Like many charities across Canada, we are navigating rising costs, declining donations, increasing service demand, and an extremely challenging fundraising environment. The board has made the decision to move forward with focused organizational support efforts to ensure Siloam remains strong, sustainable, and able to serve the community for years to come.”

The plan includes tighter financial oversight, reviews of the organization’s structure and fundraising operations, a governance review, and leadership transition measures.

Beginning next week, Siloam will bring in a temporary local executive support team with expertise in organizational transitions, financial management, operations, governance and charitable fundraising to assist over the next six months.

In the coming weeks, Siloam said Prevost-Derbecker will facilitate “a knowledge transfer to the incoming executive support team.”

“Leading Siloam Mission has been deeply meaningful to me, even though it has been at an incredibly challenging time,” Prevost-Derbecker said in the release. “I am proud of the work we have accomplished together and am grateful to the staff, volunteers, donors, and community members who continue showing up every day to support the lifesaving work that this community deserves. I have had the honour of working with some of the most compassionate people I have ever worked with.”

Siloam declined to answer further questions surrounding Prevost-Derbecker’s departure on Monday.

Her exit marks an end to a turbulent tenure marked by internal upheaval, executive firings, layoffs and growing scrutiny over the organization’s leadership and workplace culture.

“Sonia was brought to Siloam to lead during a difficult period for the organization, and we are grateful for her leadership and contributions,” Silagy said.

“In her tenure, she advanced critical operational and funding efforts that will continue to sustain us through this transition. She, and our executive team, led an in-depth review of our operations, finances, and organizational pressures that have made clear that additional organizational support is now needed across multiple areas of the organization.”

The departure, shared with senior leadership Monday morning, follows weeks of controversy stemming from Prevost-Derbecker’s hiring in February.

Employees alleged she made derogatory remarks about Indigenous people, people struggling with substance use and the downtown neighbourhood surrounding the mission’s Princess Street headquarters.

Siloam’s board initially defended its decision to hire Prevost-Derbecker from a field of more than 1,100 applicants in a nationwide search, expressing confidence in her leadership while acknowledging the organization failed to provide a smooth transition for its fourth CEO since 2021.

Following Free Press reporting on the workplace turmoil, two senior executives were dismissed after publicly voicing concerns about Prevost-Derbecker’s leadership. Siloam later retained Winnipeg-based consulting firm TIPI Legacy HR+ to review the organization’s workplace policies, practices and culture.

Two weeks ago, the mission announced 16 employees would be laid off by June 1 as part of a “stabilization plan” prompted by a sharp decline in donations.

Siloam said at the time it hoped the layoffs would be temporary as the organization grapples with a $4.4-million deficit.

“Over the past few months of review, it has become clear that some of the challenges we are addressing today have been building for years,” Prevost-Derbecker said at the time in the release announcing the layoffs.

“We have left no stone unturned and see that we must address our financial sustainability, leadership structure, internal culture, and our rapid pace of growth, to stabilize the organization.”

The plan also included reduced hours for additional staff, along with “slightly” scaled-back hours for the mission’s drop-in space and clothing store.

On Monday, Siloam said support had been secured, including through private donations, that will allow its drop-in services to remain fully operational for an additional month while long-term funding solutions continue to be pursued.

Reduced drop-in hours, previously anticipated earlier, are now scheduled to take effect July 1 if additional funding is not secured.

The Free Press previously reported Siloam was considering cutting as many as two dozen positions, with executives directed to evaluate all staff roles.

Private donations fell to $7.7 million in 2025-26 from more than $11.3 million in 2021-22, with Siloam officials saying operating funds used for front-line services and day-to-day operations were hit hardest.

The organization received just shy of $8 million in federal and provincial funding in the 2025-26 fiscal year ending March 31.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca