SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Women and children fleeing violence or who need help to better their circumstances, will be able to call Betty House home once it's built - hopefully in time for Christmas dinner in 2012.

The name Betty is an acronym that stands for Better Environment to Transition in Yellowknife. The mandate of the home is to help women and children stabilize, move forward and make positive life choices.

Over 15 people attended a free barbeque on 54 Street at noon on May 4 to commemorate the donation of $700,000 by BHP Billiton to the construction of Betty House. The home will be located across the street from Aurora College – a lot which right now only houses huge puddles and parked cars.

Paul Harvey, president of BHP Billiton, was at the barbeque to hand over the cheque to Dale Handy, the women and children transitional home co-ordinater with the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition.

"We have been looking three to four years for social programs in Yellowknife to donate to and we think this is the right one – the big one – and this is the final step," said Harvey. "This is the single biggest donation we have made to any organization. We are encouraging others to jump aboard."

Handy said the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition will need approximately $6 million to build Betty House and hope to have the building finished in time to serve Christmas dinner in 2012.

The contract for the transitional home has been awarded to FSC Architects and Engineers, though there is no design yet for the home.

"The emphasis is on a home no different than any other home. We are working on a preliminary needs survey with service providers to determine the flow of traffic and the programs that will be offered," said Handy.

Right now the YWCA has 12 beds at the Alison McAteer House, its family violence shelter, and 32 units for families at Rockhill Apartments, according to Lyda Fuller, executive director of the YWCA Yellowknife. There are 25 families currently looking for housing through the YWCA.

Fuller said they are hoping to get as many rooms into the new home as possible.

"There will be six spaces available for single women and 18 spaces for women and children."

The YWCA will eventually be the owner and operator of Betty House and is looking at including a daycare at the home. Fuller said Betty House is a much-needed tool to help fix the homelessness issue in Yellowknife.

"Women all the time have to go back to abusive relationships because they can't get housing."

Phoebe Kenny, a student at Aurora College and the mother of a year-old daughter is relieved that more housing will be built for women, and she is frustrated with the current lack of housing. She has been living in Yellowknife for a year and currently has nowhere to live next month as during summer break she can't stay in student housing.

"The Yellowknife Housing Authority has told me I have to wait for about a year to get a house," said Kenny.

All of the funds provided to purchase the land for Betty house, worth $935,000, were attained through the Homeless Partnering Strategy, a federal program which provides funding for housing that addresses homelessness.

The Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition's priority two committee will be overseeing the construction and design of Betty House.

The Homelessness Coalition opened Bailey House, a 32-unit transition house for men, in 2008.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.