There's an old saying that suggests you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink.

It may be cliche, but it represents an important part of the problem of homelessness.

Many of the people who need our help, like Brad -- profiled in Monday's News/North -- are economic refugees who have come North in search of a better life or who have found themselves on the street due to job loss or other circumstances, and need a hand up. They are relatively easy to deal with and are usually willing to accept the help.

Others -- the so-called 'hard-to-house' -- are a different story. They are on the street for vastly different reasons -- usually drug and alcohol abuse or mental illness.

It is the 'hard-to-house' for whom the Home for the Homeless was founded. That shelter evolved into more than that -- opening its doors to virtually anyone in need of a place to stay. Due to that fact, the home's funding agencies were starting to pull the plug, and the closure was accelerated by a stabbing. It closes Friday.

That's unfortunate, because those who run the facility have tried their best in a very difficult situation.

A new effort by a coalition of social agencies to re-organize services for the homeless will, we hope, help fill that gap. If it can improve support for a -- to use their word -- "marginalized" segment of Yellowknife's population, then it's all for the good.

Unfortunately, these "marginalized" individuals can't be forced through the "continuum of housing and support services" that is proposed. Sometimes they just need a place to crash, where there are no "interagency protocols" or efforts to "increase individual potential for more independent living by providing personal development and skill-building opportunities" -- until they alone reach the decision to accept the hand up.

Reverend Gordon Bailey and his wife provided just such a street level emergency shelter service for many years in the city. All were welcome, no one was turned away. The Baileys may be gone but that kind of help is still in demand.

Glaring injusticeTry going without food for a day, even drinking all the fluids you want. Most people wouldn't like it.

Mary Kosta did for 20 days, drawing attention to the Giant miners who suffered at the hands of a rogue corporation which was in turn aided and abetted by lax government regulations.

Kosta's hunger strike put the spotlight on a serious threat to Canadian pension funds. Royal Oak underfunded and diverted money from the workers' pension. This should not be allowed.

Kosta's action also put daily pressure on politicians to act. That such a glaring injustice required someone to put their life on the line is sad enough.

We hope Kosta isn't forced to resume her hunger strike due to further inaction.

Healing wordsClyde River's Ilisaqsivik Society is making positive strides in the way of creating connections with people in their community.

Based on a $30,000 grant, local translators have been furiously selecting written healing materials to translate into Inuktitut -- a first in the community.

Feedback has been positive all round and workers at the society say the spinoffs have included a little healing of their own.

Unfortunately, the project is over at the end of this month, but the benefits to people's mental and physical well-being will continue to surface far beyond this fiscal year.

If this is Caribou Carnival time it must be spring. Yellowknife's annual shake-the-winter-out-of-your-hair festival starts Friday and runs through the weekend.

Kicking off with a fireworks display Friday night, the weekend will be filled with things to do for everybody.

It is important to remember, however, that beyond the kiosks and the contests are armies of volunteers. The unique spirit of Caribou Carnival is driven by community participation.

The best way for Yellowknifers to show their gratitude to the legions of people who put in the time and effort into Caribou Carnival is to show up. And, if you are new to town, remember that this is the North, events aren't cancelled due to winter weather.

We have no reason to believe anything was behind the female client's brush cut other than an unskilled person attempting to perform a task they were not properly trained to do.

Still, group home staff were guilty of being more than a little insensitive in the matter and there can be no excuse for the absence of a skilled hairdresser before now.

Basically, what we're looking at is a lack of respect for the group home clients.

And with the money group homes receive to care for clients, a skilled hairdresser making an appearance once a month certainly shouldn't destroy anybody's annual budget.

It's fine to say it's only hair and that it will grow back, but there can be a great deal of emotional stress attached to such an unfortunate happening.

Not to mention the discomfort the female client in question may be feeling while she's waiting for her hair to grow back to its normal length.

And judging from the comments we received in a letter from a family member, the episode was very unsettling for the woman's family.

The bottom line here is that our mentally challenged citizens have feelings too.

And being as vulnerable as they are, every effort must be taken by care-givers to ensure their feelings -- and those of family members -- are respected.

There is also the area of professionalism to be addressed.

The image of staff members untrained in the art of hairstyling running around with clippers buzzing doesn't do much to instill confidence in the group home's overall environment.

As a society, we like to feel that the less fortunate among us who -- through no fault of their own -- must reside in group homes are being adequately cared for and their feelings respected.

Perception can often be as important as reality, especially in the case of our sick, elderly, and physically and mentally challenged and how they're cared for.

Their emotional well-being is every bit as important as their physical well-being.

And perhaps, most importantly, they deserve the same level of respect we often demand for ourselves.