Yellowknife (Jun 02/06) - People having trouble with accessing housing in Yellowknife will have a new person to turn to.

The Centre for Northern Families will be creating an advocate position to work with people who need help finding or keeping their accommodations.

Facts from 2004 Annual Report on the Activities of the NWT Rental Office Total applications in 2004: 523 Resulted in hearing of case: 383 Per cent filed by landlords: 92 Per cent of applications withdrawn: 31 Most common reason for filing application: Failure of tenant to pay rent More than half of the hearings involved Yellowknife accommodations

The advocate will also identify human rights violations involving housing - a service that will be offered to everyone who walks through the centre's doors.

Kerry King, who works at the centre, has been chosen to fill the full-time position.

"We have a lot of issues with people leaving violent situations or needing to have a rental history," said King.

"There are only a few thousand (public housing units) in the NWT," said King, which in her opinion isn't enough.

The service is a pilot project and will be run for 18 months, said Arlene Hache executive director at centre.

She said this is an important service to offer the community because the rental officer for the GNWT, Hal Logsdon, must remain objective when hearing cases brought before him.

The rental officer's job is to provide information to landlords and tenants and judging cases brought before him based on legislation in the NWT Residential Tenancies Act.

The rental officer's decisions are filed in territorial court and are law-binding.

The rental officer can provide information on the rights of tenants, but cannot help people submit complaints or help prepare a case for tenants to challenge an eviction notice - a job the advocate would be doing said Hache.

"I have to be very careful I don't act as counsel for either party," said Logsdon.

The service is being sponsored by the family centre and the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), based in Ontario.

CERA is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to addressing human rights violations and housing.

Executive Director of CERA, John Fraser, came to Yellowknife earlier in the month to discuss human rights and housing at the Salvation Army.

"Our main goal is to assist people with accessing housing," said Fraser.

A position like the one the centre is creating is critical in communities, said Fraser.

Some of the concerns community members brought up at his workshop are teenagers on their own having trouble finding housing, people without credit ratings or rental histories, and discrimination for people who live on income support, said Fraser.

Yellowknife resident Emily Lawson said there is a definite need for housing advocates here.

She and her 13-year-old son are currently without a permanent home after her apartment flooded.

Other places she has looked at can't meet her housing needs because she has suffered a spinal cord injury.

"It's not my inability to pay rent, it's that I need specialized housing," said Lawson.

She said she has no choice but to apply for public housing because she has nowhere else to go.

Lawson and her son are currently staying in a friend's home.

CERA will be providing the training and materials for the centre's advocate, which will be developed over the summer.

Hache said many people feel they have nowhere to turn to if they have a problem with their landlords - especially in cases of public housing.

"There is a three month contract in public housing," said Hache, which acts like a probation period.

The problem is that the contract is not automatically renewed, which means there is a possibility the tenants could be evicted at the end of the three-month period.

Logsdon said he has received complaints about this issue.

In his opinion, having a housing advocate could benefit the community.

"I don't think it hurts," he said.

The centre said there are plans for two more part-time advocates to be trained as well.