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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - The declining Japanese aurora tourism market has produced an unexpected upside for Yellowknife's most vulnerable.

A clothing donation from Aurora World's auctioned stock will help the city's homeless population endure the bitter Northern winter just a little more easily.

Brian Carter, left, offers free winter clothing to Joyce-Allis Nitsiza, left from centre, and two homeless men who declined to be identified. - Gabriel Zarate/NNSL photo

Since Dec. 18, Brian Carter, deacon of St. Patrick's Catholic Church has been giving away dozens of parkas, coveralls, boots and mitts out of his van directly to the homeless, who need whatever warmth they can get in the face of Yellowknife's lethally low temperatures.

"One gentleman with no fingers doesn't have anything to protect what's left of his hands," Carter lamented.

On Monday Carter and Don Andrusiak were on Franklin Ave. in front of the downtown Post Office where homeless people are often found. Carter said the TD Bank nearby doesn't lock the door to its bank machine lobby so there are often homeless who spend the night there in winter.

Andrusiak's business, Northern Patrol Services, patrols by businesses at night and he includes the TD Bank on his route to ensure no one is hassling the customers.

By 7 p.m., the only homeless still on the street were those who couldn't get into a shelter. The weather forecast for the night was -45 C including wind chill, so beds filled rapidly. Only four people arrived to see what Carter and Andrusiak had to offer.

Carter pointed out the low turnout was in part because of the cold, but had also heard some homeless were afraid it was a police "sting" operation. Some homeless people have outstanding warrants and do not want to be found.

One man went away empty-handed, disappointed Carter did not have any mitts with him Monday.

Andrusiak took the rest of the clothing with him in his van as he went on his nightly patrol route. He is familiar with many of the "sleepers" who spend the night on the street and gave clothes away to those he encountered.

The clothing windfall came thanks to a donation from Yellowknife Catholic Schools, which in turn had received hundreds of items of winter clothing from an anonymous donor last week. The donor acquired the clothing at an Aurora World's going-out-of-business auction Dec. 12.

Ironically, the Catholic school district had bid on Aurora World's lot, but was outbid by the anonymous donor.

The Catholic district used most of the clothing it received for its winter cultural activities but there was far more than the district needed. The clothing was shared with the Yellowknife Education District No. 1, Chief Jimmy Bruneau high school in Behchoko and Yellowknives Dene First Nation schools in Ndilo and Dettah - 12 schools in all.

Even so, there were still dozens of items left over, especially of larger sizes too big for most high school students. So the Catholic board aboriginal language co-ordinator Dianne Lafferty turned the leftovers to Carter, who is also district chaplain to the school board, to give to the homeless.

By Friday, Dec. 19 the word was out on the street the Catholic school district was giving away winter clothing to any homeless who came by the district's office on 49 St. Carter said seven to eight people showed up and left fully decked out in winter gear.

Carter has been ministering to Yellowknife's homeless since he first arrived in town seven years ago. He estimates there are at least 100 people living on the streets.

"A lot of Yellowknifers don't even realize we have homeless in Yellowknife," he remarked.

Joyce-Allis Nitsiza is one of them. She stays with family in Old Town at night but during the day they have things to do so she must leave. She usually has court-ordered community service work to keep her busy during the day. She eagerly took what Carter and Andrusiak offered, loading up on coveralls and boots with visible delight.

Homeless people in Yellowknife simply have no place to go during the day when shelters are closed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The homeless are out on the street, looking for any warm doorway to take shelter in. Owners tell them to move along since their presence doesn't exactly attract customers, so they are constantly on the move.

Many homeless people struggle with addictions including alcoholism and shelters may deny them entrance if they show up inebriated, so they must spend the night wherever they can, such as in the entrance way of banks. Warm clothing would go a long way in helping them survive.

"We're trying to get this clothing out as fast as possible to those who need it the most," Carter said.