Yellowknife (Aug 11/03) - A new community coalition formed to reduce substance abuse in Yellowknife is a waste of time and will only take away funding for other services, says Centre for Northern Families executive director, Arlene Hache.

Hache called the trip the RCMP and others went on to view how Alaska is handling their problems "ridiculous."

"We have a basis of good services here. We don't have the resources, but we have a foundation for services."

"I would like the coalition to support the Women's Centre and the Salvation Army, not to drain the resources by establishing a totally new thing. We don't have enough as it is." The Centre for Northern Families is currently $56,000 in debt.

Hache said she knows the coalition was born out of a desire to do something good for people who need help. But she's not going to join.

"From my perspective, it's a bunch of navel gazing. If anything I'm tired of meeting to death."

Addiction is only a symptom of a bigger problem, she said. Many people here have mental illnesses and harbour deep wounds because of abuse they suffered at residential schools and from family violence.

She said the coalition "has bought into the idea that if they have a new detox drop-in centre it will solve all their problems."

"There's a huge price we pay for the trauma that's occurred to this population. And they are not going to get over that -- lots of them never -- even if they go to 11 treatment programs."

She said the coalition's idea to do a needs assessment in order to identify gaps in the system has already been done.

"I think if they don't know where the gaps are then they shouldn't even be in that coalition. If they haven't figured that out, then it's a waste of time. And I don't want the government to fund another navel gazing exercise because they don't fund the things that we are desperate for."

She did say the different organizations which provide services in Yellowknife don't always connect. "Everyone works in their own bailiwick and they don't always see or care too much what the other agencies might be doing."

The Yellowknife Community Wellness Coalition's chair, Lea Martin, said the group's idea of compiling a community profile -- which will likely be funded through the federal government's justice department -- will help connect these dots.

Const. Dino Norris, who is on the coalition, said they want to determine exactly what is needed in Yellowknife.

"The coalition is not about getting money," he said.

"What are we going to do with it? We're about making sure that the resources that need to be there are there.

"I think (the women's centre) is doing a wonderful job with the resources they have. But as a community we have to focus on what we can do better... The bottom line is we are all working on a common goal."