'This is a step in the right direction'
New homelessness advisory board will determine how to spend more than $400,000 in federal funding
Cody Punter
Northern News Services
Published Friday, May 2, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The city's recent decision to form its own advisory board on homelessness will help "streamline the process" of deciding how more than $400,000 in federal funding is spent, according to the chair of its social issues committee.
"This is a step in the right direction," said Coun. Linda Bussey, who was not in attendance when council voted unanimously in favour of creating the board Monday night.
The city received a total of $419,852 through the federal government's homelessness partnering strategy for 2013-14.
In the past, this money has been used toward supporting major projects, such as the Betty House and Bailey House, transitional homes for women and men, respectively.
In order to be eligible for the funding, a municipality must have a board made up of community organizations and government representatives which are in charge of submitting a community plan that sets out how the money will be spent.
Up until now, that plan has been formulated by Yellowknife's Homelessness Coalition.
But the recent vote means the approximately 25-member group will be replaced by a city-appointed nine-member board as the group responsible for the plan.
"It's making it smaller so we can just plow through the community plan," Bussey said.
Grant White, director of community services, added that members of the community advisory board will be selected from various community organizations, much in the same way the coalition was, in order to meet the federal government's requirements.
Yellowknife first began receiving federal funding for homelessness initiatives when agencies such as the Centre for Northern Families, the YWCA and the Salvation Army got together to form the Homelessness Coalition in 1999.
In 2005, the city took over as the legal entity for administering the funding from the Salvation Army, but retained the coalition in an advisory capacity to formulate its annual plan.
White said that by no longer having to worry about how the federal funding is spent, the coalition will be able to focus on dealing with "case management, addressing imminent or emerging housing situations and housing issues."
In an e-mail to Yellowknifer, the Yellowknife YWCA's executive director, Lyda Fuller, said she essentially agreed with White's statement.
"The homelessness coalition became totally focused on the federal funding and federal homelessness initiatives, rather than being a broader forum for homelessness issues," she stated.
"The agencies for sure missed that broader forum for sharing, discussion and problem solving.
"We hope to re-establish that forum now that the city will have a community advisory board to deal with the federal funding."
