Yellowknife (Oct 17/03) - A Yellowknife family is applying to the city to develop an adult safe home.

David Smith, of 6217 Finlayson Dr., is seeking to establish a psychiatric safe home for five mentally disabled young men on the ground floor level of his family home.

A former worker at Chartrand House, a similar home for the mentally challenged which closed earlier this year, Smith has filed a proposed change of land use application to the city.

"We would be making sure they got to work on time and help with budgeting -- basically providing supervision," Smith said.

He described the situation as "protecting them from society, not protecting society from them."

Les Harrison, director of community and family services, at Yellowknife Health and Social Services, said he knows nothing of the proposed home, although in July the department put out a request for proposals for the provision of adult care homes.

"We wanted to see what interest there was to provide this care," Harrison said.

While he did not know about the project on Finlayson Drive, he said the Yellowknife Health and Social Service department is responsible for providing placement services and care to adults with psychiatric needs or developmental delays and/or brain injuries.

Robbie MacIntosh, of People First, said the adults have been living at the home since he started the contract on April 1.

MacIntosh is organizing the project for the home and said the five adults had been living together for five years previous to this and it was important to try and keep them together in such a home.

"We're bridging the community gaps," he said of the project.

John Pelletier, development officer for the city, said the home will be treated as a special care facility.

"There is no change in zoning required," Pelletier said.

"Once it is approved, then it becomes licensed.

Pelletier said other licences will likely be required by other departments, such as health and social services.

"He's made the application and he has to follow the process."