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Federal government to fund transitional housing Sarah Ferguson Northern News Services Published Wednesday, August 10, 2011
The federal strategy is aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness across Canada. Dayle Hernblad, co-ordinator of the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition, says that most of the $1,250,556 in funding will be put toward the construction of Betty House, which will offer transitional housing to Northern women who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. "We are also very grateful to BHP Billiton for contributing $700,000 to the project. There has been a phenomenal response to getting it up and running," Hernblad said. Although the federal funding will bring the coalition's goal of helping Yellowknife's homeless women one step closer to reality, Hernblad said that the targeted amount of $6.2 million required to complete the Betty House project will require more funding, and that right now the coalition is "not very close" to meeting its target. "We still don't have a deadline for the project's completion. To come up with a date requires that we have the money to build (Betty House) and right now we are still meeting to figure out the budget costs," she said. This is the second time that the federal government has provided funding to the project. Last year, it provided close to $1 million to help purchase land to build the new transitional housing. If fundraising efforts succeed, Betty House will be located in Yellowknife's downtown core on 54 Street. The federal government's latest financial contribution provides a much needed boost to the project, whose contributors include the Yellowknife Community Foundation, which provided $50,000 in funding, as well as a number of community members who have donated $25,000 to the effort to date. Mayor Gord Van Tighem says the fundraising campaign for the construction of Betty House is the latest development in the city's mandate to combat homelessness in Yellowknife. "The issue of homeless women and children is currently our first priority when it comes to tackling the (homelessness) concern in the city right now. We addressed the issue of transitional housing for men when we built Bailey House (back in 2009) and this is our latest attempt to get things on track," he said. "We know that once it is constructed, the building is going to fill up fast," Hernblad said. "In fact, I think we could probably fill another building on top of this one, based on demand alone." She said the federal funding will also be used to help several smaller projects in the community related to homelessness. She said that the coalition has partnered with the local consulting firm FSC Architects and Engineers to work on construction plans and that a design for the building is currently being drafted.
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