Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Aug 15/01) - A Yellowknife charity group has bailed out a cash-strapped youth organization struggling to finish the construction of a new drop-in centre in the city's downtown core.

The Elks Lodge 314 opened its purse strings and allowed the Side Door Youth Centre to use $95,000 to finish renovations on the old Mine Rescue building on the corner of 50th Street and 49th Avenue.

"Our mandate is to help anyone in the community," said Dave Hurley, manager of the Elks.

According to Kevin Laframboise, director for the Side Door, the renovations began five months ago, despite the project being short by $130,000. The project had raised $430,000 in cash or in-kind grants from both the public and private sector.

"A lot of people need to understand we're not-for-profit and that is part of it," said Hurley.

"We start projects and hope the money will come."

Last month, NWT Family Services came in and offered $29,000 for the project.

Realizing they were still short, Laframboise said it was then they approached the Elk's.

"We did some investigation," said Hurley.

The Elks board met on Monday and decided to bail out the Side Door.

"They couldn't have finished the project without us," Hurley said.

According to him, the centre has three years to pay back $65,000 of the total loan. The rest is forgivable.

The current money is for the first phase of the renovations scheduled for completion in September.

Laframboise is trying to secure $130,000 from the federal government for the second phase, a two-storey, 216-square-metre addition to the building.

The Side Door has put to work about 40 youth for the renovations, some paid, some volunteer, some working off community service hours.

So far, the city of Yellowknife has donated the building and $250,000, the federal government's HYPE program has given the centre $130,000, Diavik has donated $40,000 in-kind benefits along with Nahanni Construction, which donated around $10,000 in kind as well.

The new centre will provide 24-hour emergency drop-in services for youth with no place to go, as well as other services meant to target at-risk youth.

"It's a necessary service in the city," said Hurley.