Yellowknife (Apr 01/05) - The mood at Turning Point emergency shelter last Thursday was sombre as word spread that the doors of the 12-bed facility would close for good this week.

"It's hard to imagine this place shutting down," said resident John Dixon, who has lived at the Kingmingya Road shelter since November 2004.

"I've got nowhere to go right now and because of surgery (on my leg) I can't get around all that well to pitch my tent."

Dixon is one of eight current residents who will be looking for another place to live as of March 31, now that Turning Point's primary funder, Education, Culture and Employment, has made the decision to discontinue its support.

On Tuesday, Turning Point executive director Donna Edwards, an employee of the shelter since 2003, said talks were underway "between people in town" about ways to keep the facility open. While negotiations are ongoing, Edwards declined to comment on who exactly was doing the talking.

"It was a struggle getting donations and when we lost the alcohol and drug counsellor, it was going downhill," she said.

"There are some people talking about keeping it open but this should've been done sooner."

Nobody with the department in Inuvik was able to comment on the matter, except to confirm that one meeting was held last week with stakeholders in the community and another was planned for Wednesday (March 30) to try and find a way of keeping the shelter open.

Last year, the department provided approximately $65,000 to the shelter.

According to the Inuvik Alcohol Committee, the society that operates Turning Point, the annual cost of running the shelter is $181,000. The housing corporation and health and social services also contributed funds to the facility's operation.

Turning Point has run into debt to the tune of approximately $100,000. This means "the society won't be in good standing after our 2004 budget report," according to chair Derek Lindsay, the society's only remaining member.

Lindsay blames the debt -- accumulated over the past three years -- on underfunding.

"I can't fight this battle alone. It's hard to shoulder all of this," he said. "I think it's the MLAs job to step up to the plate here."

Back at Turning Point, Dixon and fellow resident Dennis Alunik talk about their options over coffee.

"It's really grim to be evicted from a homeless shelter, that's really scraping the bottom of the barrel," said Alunik, who has lived at Turning Point for about a year.

"The night before I got here I spent in the drunk tank. Turning Point has kept me sober since then."

Both Alunik and Dixon are on the Inuvik Housing Authority's list for subsidized accommodations, however, as they are single their chances of getting a roof over their heads any time soon are slim.

According to the Inuvik Housing Authority, it is not unusual that wait times for single people needing accommodations can exceed a year.

"The only thing really, is if we all go in on a place and turn it into a flop house," offered Dixon, who has little faith that government will come to the rescue.

"All I can say is, if nobody does anything, nothing's going to get done.

"It's sad to say but it's going to take something tragic before anything will happen."