Day shelter set to re-open
Yellowknife health authority issues request for proposals to run shelter with reduced hours in the summer
Daron Letts
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 25, 2014
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife's day shelter, which closed this past spring, is scheduled to re-open Sept. 30 and the contract to run it is now open for bids.
A group of clients rest at the day shelter in 2012, when it was open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. year-round. A new request for proposals issued by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority calls for contract bids to run the shelter with reduced summer hours from May to September. - NNSL file photo |
The call for tender seeking a day shelter venue, which was formerly located on 52 Street, is scheduled to be issued soon by the Department of Public Works and Services.
The Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority issued a request for proposals this month and will host an information session in its boardroom at 4916 47 Street for interested proponents at 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
Ruth Gillingham, executive director of the Salvation Army in Yellowknife, plans to attend.
"We're looking forward to seeing the day shelter get back on track," she said.
She said she will investigate the philosophy and parameters of the health authority's request before making a decision as to whether the organization will bid on the contract.
Staff at the Salvation Army experienced an increase in demand for the organization's services and facilities immediately after the shelter closed, according to case worker Sarah Kelly.
"We have a lot more people ever since the day shelter closed," she said.
The health authority did not renew its contract with the John Howard Society, which had run the shelter since it opened in 2009, this past March - with the intention of re-opening the shelter this fall. Following a public outcry, the health authority contracted the NWT Disabilities Council to keep the day shelter running until the end of May.
"For the first week or two after it closed (in June), we were running out of food," Kelly said, referring to the Salvation Army's 12:30 to 1 p.m. lunch service and 7 to 8 p.m. dinner service, as well as snacks during the day. "We have a lot more people coming in for lunch."
The organization's food costs increased by more than $2,000 per month, she added.
"It's been manageable, but it's certainly not what we were prepared for," she said.
Kelly said more women in particular began accessing the organization's food services after the day shelter closed.
The women's shelter, operated by the Centre for Northern Families, provides meals throughout the day for between a dozen and two dozen sober clients, on average.
The day shelter on 52 Street provided clients with hot breakfasts while being operated by the John Howard Society and snacks while being operated by the NWT Disabilities Council.
The health authority's latest request for proposals calls for the operator to provide "refreshments," including clean drinking water.
In addition to increased stress on food resources, Salvation Army staff have had to deal with an increase in incidents related to people under the influence of alcohol.
The day shelter operates according to a harm-reduction approach, according to which intoxicated clients may be welcomed with dignity and compassion without judgement, provided they do not pose an immediate risk to themselves or others.
"We have a lot more people coming in under the influence than we had before," said Kelly.
"We've had quite a few more medical incidences, as well."
Salvation Army staff called RCMP to pick up intoxicated clients four times in one day in early June, she added.
Throughout that month, the Salvation Army sheltered 103 different male clients overnight in its 35 beds, which are full seven nights a week, and in July it sheltered 92 male clients overnight. The organization reserves 10 of its beds for intoxicated clients who do not pose a risk to themselves or others. Between six and 10 of these beds are filled nightly, according to Gillingham.
The Salvation Army provides bathroom access, including a shower, soap, towels, shampoo and razors if needed, as well as laundry facilities from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. to all clients, men and women, with the same caveat.
The Salvation Army does not, however, have storage capacity in which clients may leave their back backs and other belongings. Clients of the closed day shelter used to store their belongings, including sleeping bags and personal identification such as birth certificates, in designated space provided at the shelter.
As a result, thefts and loss of personal belongings have increased, Kelly said.
Yellowknife's homeless population will be safer once the day shelter re-opens, she added, especially for those with medical conditions who may otherwise be invisible and out of reach of assistance in the shelter's absence.
"If they're alone out there wherever, who knows what's going to happen," she said.
Whatever organization takes the shelter over, Kelly said she hopes it will offer programming to help clients build skills, foster motivation and increase self-esteem.
Lydia Bardak, who managed the shelter for about five years as executive director of the John Howard Society, said she plans to learn more about the terms of reference for the request for proposals during Tuesday's information session, but based on the health authority's commitment to cut shelter hours in summer, her organization would not bid on the contract.
The health authority proposes to cut summer hours from May to September from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., down from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., which continues from October to April.
"My concern is that, in the beginning, when the day shelter was conceived, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. fit with the times that the Salvation Army men's shelter closed. They close at 7 a.m. in the morning so the guys can just go straight into the day shelter (on 52 Street)," said Bardak. "From 7 a.m. until 10 a.m. in the summertime, there isn't any place for people to go and when we were operating it, we fed about 40 people every morning. So, to me it leaves a serious gap."
The health authority's deadline for day shelter proposals is Aug. 13. The day shelter is primarily funded through a partnership between the health authority and the City of Yellowknife.
The proposed budget for the new day shelter is the same as the one that just closed - $300,000.
Representatives from the NWT Disabilities Council and the Yellowknife Health Authority were unavailable for comment by press time and representatives from the City of Yellowknife declined comment.
