Deserted: Inside one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods

Coming April 20: Deserted

Real voices. Real people. Real problems. Deserted, a four-part podcast series, takes you inside the issues people living inside the R2W postal code in Winnipeg, Canada deal with. Coming April 20 on Apple Podcasts, Substack and YouTube. 

EPISODE 1: Finding Food

Reporter Skye Anderson looks into the impacts of living in a food desert — a geographical area where low income people have limited or no access to healthy and affordable food. Anderson details the experiences of R2W resident Jonny Sand. Other advocates help connect food insecurity to wider issues affecting the historic area of Winnipeg. 

EPISODE 2: Housing Hassles

Reporter Matthew Frank explores how the lack of quality, affordable and safe housing impacts people in the R2W and surrounding area. The episode returns to Jonathan Sand’s story and how both he and Lorenda Nepinak struggled to find their current apartment. Frank also examines the plague of vacant buildings in the area and the hazard they present to the community — on several levels 

EPISODE 3: Wrecked-reation

Reporter Alex Lambert deep-dives into how the poverty of recreation activities in the R2W area has a ripple effect on the lives of those living there — including kids and the elderly. What are the city and province's priorities? 

EPISODE 4: Business Battles

Reporters Ben Little and Massimo De Luca-Taronno look at the troubled business climate in the R2W area, speaking to business owners and workers who love the area but detail the headaches they contend with as they try to stay afloat. Some fear the economic health of the area — and the North End in general — just isn't a priority for the powers that be.