Carman non-profit, memorial for victims of February mass killing get more than $300K in provincial funding

The Manitoba government is providing funds to create a memorial to honour five family members, including three young children, killed in a rural area southwest of Winnipeg.

The province says it is providing $20,000 for construction of the memorial in Carman, as well as $300,000 over three years to Carman Wellness Connections, a volunteer-run non-profit organization that offers mental health services.

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew said he was proud to see the organization and community members step up and support each other following the tragedy.

"People could have said, 'That's someone else's family.' But that's not what people in Carman said. People in Carman stood up and responded and helped these families as if this was their own," he said at a news conference in Carman on Wednesday, where he announced the funding.

"That meant a lot to me."

Police found the bodies of Amanda Clearwater, her three children six-year-old Bethany, four-year-old Jayven and two-month-old Isabella and her 17-year-old foster cousin, Myah-Lee Gratton, at multiple crimescenes in and around Carman in February.

Ryan Manoakeesick, Clearwater's common-law partner and the father of the three children, has been charged with five counts of first-degree murder.

Nancy Clearwater, Amanda's mother, said the funding for both the memorial and the non-profit will help the community.

She commended Kinew for also paying his respects at a vigil for the victims earlier this year.

"Not too many premiers I could imagine would come out here to do a vigil for the victims and then attend their memorial services. That meant a lot to my family," Clearwater said after the news conference.

She said it was important "to know that there are people out there that do recognize that domestic violence is a disease out there that needs to be taken care of."

Karen Tjaden, a board member with Carman Wellness Connections, says the group has been operating with a minimal budget since it formed in 2020, butgovernment funding will allow it to enhance its programs and expand its reach in the community.

Itcould also support staffing resources, including a co-ordinator position to work with the organization's volunteers.

Mayor Brent Owen said the community is still feeling the impacts of the tragedy three months later, but he's hopeful the funding for the non-profit will mean residents will be able to get support for years to come.

"In this time of crisis, they were there to provide care to anyone who needed it," he said Wednesday.

Kinew saidthe town will be in charge of determining what the memorial will look like, but early conversations have indicated it will include something for children, like a playground.