Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 21/00) - Selected employees of the Yellowknife Women's Centre and the Salvation Army will soon be offering the government-run income support program at their locations.

Two employees from each of the community agencies were in training this week, preparing to take over the program which is currently handled by the Canada-NWT Service Centre.

The Women's Centre and the Salvation Army decided to seek approval to run the income support program because both agencies provide emergency shelter and services to the same clients that apply for income support.

"We decided to approach the (service) centre to see if they would consider us actually connecting to their computers and doing assessment like they would do if people went to their office," says Arlene Hache, executive director of the Women's Centre.

However, she notes that the Canada-NWT Service Centre will still make the final decision as to which clients are approved or refused for income support.

Hache says this new initiative will benefit all those involved because it cuts down on clients "running around to different offices," while "spreading the workload around a little better.

"We will do the input of the data and make sure all the papers are there that the client needs. We just basically do the assessment," she said.

Rose O'Donnell-King, regional superintendent of the North Slave Region for the Canada-NWT Service Centre, said she is looking forward to the initiative as well.

"The biggest benefit for us is that it just sets up a really strong partnership where we are all working together. I think it's a really positive step in community involvement with our agencies," said O'Donnell-King.

Hache said the employees of the Women's Centre are very excited about taking over the program, but are also a little nervous about the step.

She ensures that the centre will always consider the well-being of their clients as their highest priority. "We want to be careful not to take on a mandate of an authority role where you essentially have to become the enforcer. We want to make sure not to take on that role," says Hache.

The selected employees from the Salvation Army and the Women's Centre will conclude their first training workshop on the regulations of the income support act today. The second workshop, the computer software orientation, will be held within the next few weeks.

Hache says she hopes the program will be up and running at the Women's Centre's 47th Street location by mid-May.