Iqaluit (Mar 10/03) - On Dec. 19, the Dome youth centre closed its doors for the Christmas holidays.

That short closure has stretched to nearly three months, and it's not clear when, or if, the centre will re-open.

The Dome in Iqaluit is closed indefinitely. Board members of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association will vote in May whether or not to re-open the youth centre. - photo courtesy of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association

The last straw came on New Year's Eve. Someone broke into the centre, damaging much of the equipment inside.

The break-in just added to the negative image the Dome had around Iqaluit.

City councillor Stu Kennedy, said many people were concerned with what was going on at the Dome. Whether these concerns are just rumours or not, he's happy they've taken some time out to rectify them.

"We know that a lot of youth were getting beaten up in that area and that there was a lot of suspect gatherings outside of it," he said. "These are just some examples of what was happening. Where there's smoke, there's fire."

After a lot of hard work, organizers are doing what they can to polish the Dome's image and rebuild the community support needed to get the centre re-opened.

"I've always wanted the place to be welcoming and to have a free atmosphere but I think in the future, we're going to have to tone that down a little bit," said Raurri Qajaaq Ellsworth, Regional Youth Co-ordinator for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA).

"We've made a lot of mistakes and we've learned a lot of things."

QIA contributes to the Dome's operation and distributes the centre's core funding, which comes from the federal heritage department.

Learning from past mistakes

Ellsworth admits the centre needed more supervision.

He said there's nothing he can do about the rumours floating around on the Dome, other than learn from past mistakes.

However, Kennedy is hopeful the perception of the Dome will be turned around when it re-opens.

"We learn from our mistakes and we should recognize that. Hopefully, the Dome will become an example of a great operation when it re-opens," he explained.

Support is out there

Ellsworth and Kennedy are not the only ones who want to see the facility open again. The City of Iqaluit has given its support, QIA's board members have responded positively to presentations since the centre's closure and the kids who used to go there every day are writing letters.

"It was practically my home," said Raigee Nuyulia, 18. "I liked everything about it, especially the computers. I'd go back right away if it opened again."

Ellsworth said he's even received letters from parents which state the need to have the Dome.

Despite that outpouring, the doors will stay locked at least until May when the QIA board meets again to decide the youth centre's future.

Before the board meeting in May, Ellsworth said he will develop a plan to address one of the centre's biggest issues: staffing.

"We had a lot of trouble keeping experienced and qualified staff in place. We started hiring supervisors on a casual basis without going through the whole interview process or going through criminal record checks. We needed more time but we couldn't keep anyone," said Ellsworth.

He's also working on more rigid and formal activity plans. He still likes the idea of coming up with activities as the kids bring them up, but admits that the new Dome will have to be more structured.

"We helped people informally in the past with resume writing and with homework. We took them on camping trips or hunting trips. We did a lot of programming. We want to formalize these things a bit more now," explained Ellsworth.

Developing a model

Ellsworth said although his main priority at the moment is getting the Dome re-opened, he is also assisting other communities get their own youth centres.

Over the next year, Ellsworth said QIA will develop a step-by-step guideline.

It will explain where to get funding and who to ask for help. Ellsworth said although the first eight months the Dome was opened were rocky, the experience taught everyone involved how things could be run better.