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Nathan VanderKlippe
Northern News Services
The money will be used to:
"They were all very much holistic programs," said Salvation Army Capt. Karen Hoeft, chair of the Homelessness Coalition.
The money comes out of federal funding to help the city's homelessness. One of the projects, the six-plex, will be funded from the Urban Aboriginal Fund, and is still subject to approval from Human Resources Development Canada. The building will cost $400,000.
"It's a real blend between actual places for people to live, support services -- which we hardly ever get -- and a way to keep track of things to be able to prove that it makes a difference at the end of the day," said Yellowknife Women's Centre executive director Arlene Hache.
More money needed
Some groups are already saying the money is insufficient.
"What we need is a lot more infrastructure money, and the capital funds don't come close to meeting the needs that Yellowknife has in the way of homelessness," said Tree of Peace executive director Kathy Paul-Drover.
And, added Hache, "we have a massive problem (with homelessness). "I don't think that's going to be resolved fast or easily."
But, she said, the support for front-line workers is welcome.
"For the people who provide service it's been a hard struggle, and this funding makes it less hard. And I think it makes it less hard for families that might get into one of those (six new) units."
Money left to spend
Hoeft said additional capital is on the way. The coalition has about $500,000 left to disburse, much of which will be used to add infrastructure.
"Buildings take a bit longer to get some plans in place," she explained.
Another two to four transitional homes could also be on the way. Hoeft said she is still trying to secure several federal surplus buildings for that purpose. Each building could be operated for $20,000 a year.
The coalition has $1.545 million available to implement the plan. Of that, $150,000 has already been allocated to the Side Door youth drop-in centre, and 10 per cent goes to the Salvation Army for administrative fees.
Hoeft is enthusiastic about the method used to dispense the money. Starting in 2000, community groups sat around the table and drafted a community plan identifying the city's different needs.
Hoeft hopes the process, which is a shift from the traditional government-directed system of allocating money, will become a model for more communities.
"It builds on the strengths within a community, and that's exciting," she said.
Hache agreed.
"The process was very interesting, tough, long and productive," she said.
Forming partnerships is essential to accessing funds in the current marketplace, said Paul-Drover.
"You're going to be kind of biting the hand that feeds you if you don't do that," she said. But, she added, the process wasn't perfect. The community plan didn't represent the entire community, and groups giving input to the plan didn't do so for purely altruistic reasons, she said.
"I really commend the people who put so much time and effort into it," she said. "But it was also because they probably saw dollars for themselves in it. Nothing is really done out of the goodness of their heart."
