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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A young woman who arrived in Yellowknife from a community in the Sahtu with her two children in early July looking for a fresh start and new opportunities found rigid rules prevented her from accessing the support she needed to start anew.

Susie Komak, left, and Martha Karoo hold trays of sandwiches and raisin bannock. The lunch, prepared by Karoo on July 25, is one of the services the Centre for Northern Families provides to women and children in Yellowknife. - Lyndsay Herman/NNSL photo

The situation left her and her children homeless and unexpectedly relying on the charity of relatives.

"I felt almost helpless because Alison McAteer House wasn't able to help us, emergency housing was totally full and they basically just told me to go try somewhere else," she said.

"I don't expect to come into a city and have everything handed to me but it would be helpful if there was a little bit of support."

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she was particularly disappointed when she was told she wasn't eligible for Alison McAteer House because she wasn't escaping a physically abusive relationship. Calls to the Alison McAteer House were not returned by press time.

She said her relationship with her ex-partner was very restrictive and he had prevented her from working but he did not beat her. The situation left her with few employable skills when she decided to move on. She has since completed a program at Aurora College which would allow her to work as a teacher's aid in the NWT.

Before arriving in the city, the young woman was confident in her employability and expected to be fully self-reliant within a month. She did, however, need assistance to pay for costs such as a damage deposit, first month's rent and a security deposit for utilities, which can amount to an upfront fee of thousands of dollars.

"That's what I told income support," she said. "I said, 'I just need your help for one month, just to get a place and then I can get my job. I'll get myself on my feet and then I won't bother income assistance again because ... I'll be working and putting money toward my own rent, toward my own food, toward my own childcare.'"

She said approximately three weeks after her first conversation with a case worker at income assistance, she was provided with $400 and was told she would need to have a job or be enrolled in school before they would help her find housing.

Arlene Hache, the executive director of the Centre for Northern Families who added she is not speaking on the centre's behalf, said the woman's situation is an example of how rigid rules surrounding Yellowknife services prevent people who need help from getting in touch with the resources that are available.

"I find there is no comprehensive approach to challenges," she said.

"I find the system is as rigid as ever and really doesn't respond to needs. It just has its rules, which generally don't work."

Hache said there is an inclination by members of satellite communities to come to Yellowknife for resources, school or work but the needs of these people, who may be coming from low-income situations or abusive relationships, are not properly accommodated.

"Housing is a massive challenge for people coming into Yellowknife," she said. "The other big challenge is financial resources to get set up and to ... survive a transition like that financially."

Hache also said the transition to city life from community life without the support of family and friends can be very difficult for some.

"When you see (community members) back in their own community, they are really back in their own comfortable space," she said. "They know where they belong, they have their own family, they have more confidence.

"Women come here looking for support and it ends up being extremely non-supportive."

Martha Karoo, a woman who moved to Yellowknife 11 years ago, has utilized support programs offered by the Centre for Northern Families "off and on" during her time in the city.

She said she values the security of having a place she can relax and feel safe in. The centre is that place for her, when it's open, and relieves the stress of not knowing where she will go next.

The Sahtu woman who came to Yellowknife last month said as hard as the experience has been, she would not have stayed in her previous situation simply because it was easier.

"I don't think a woman should stay with a man for financial stability," said the woman. "I'm not going to be in an unhappy relationship because it's the only thing I know or it's the only way to survive."

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