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Day shelter to remain open for now
Shelter's executive director still looking for donorsGalit Rodan Northern News Services Published Tuesday, April 3, 2012
In December, Bardak said she would be scrambling to find donors to replace BHP Billiton's annual contribution of $50,000, which the company has not renewed. "Nothing's changed," said Bardak Wednesday. "We're still actively looking for funding partners and right now we're fine for the immediate – the local health authority is onside with us working to keep it going." In December, Health Minister Tom Beaulieu told the legislative assembly that BHP would not be extending its funding of the shelter. "Unfortunately, the third funder on the project, BHP, will not be extending funding for this particular project but spending it elsewhere," Beaulieu said December 13. However on Monday, Deana Twissell, superintendent of community and external affairs for BHP, said the company had "actually never received a formal request for additional funding" and that any future requests for support would be reviewed under BHP's Ekati Plus program. Funding from the GNWT, which initially contributed $375,000, will continue to the tune of $125,000 for 2012/13, said Health and Social Services spokesperson Damien Healy. The City of Yellowknife is also renewing its $25,000 contribution for the current fiscal year. As for future funding, Mayor Gord Van Tighem said the city will be evaluating the service over the next year "and we'll see where it goes from there," he said. Still, the shelter is lacking about $90,000 of the $240,000 Bardak said was required annually to run the shelter. "We're working on it right now," said Bardak. "We met to come up with a marketing strategy so that we can go out there and find some partners and keep going because the community does recognize the value. So we're glad for that kind of support but we need financial support as well." Though the project was initially funded for three years, Bardak said she expects that new partners may only commit on a yearly basis. "Working under three years of funding was a pleasure. We didn't have that, you know, like madly racing to get proposals done every year," she said, adding that many of the city's non-governmental organizations face the challenge of finding new donors each year. "We're all in the same boat, you know? We go year-by-year and we're asking people who are not earning a lot of money to do miracles with people who present with lots of challenges. The same is true over at the Salvation Army, the same is true at the YWCA and the same is true at the Centre for Northern Families and the SideDoor," she said. Robert Hawkins, MLA for Yellowknife Centre, has been an advocate of the day shelter, but said he wanted the shelter to address some systemic issues before the GNWT extends funding further. "I'm hearing several complaints over the last couple of years regarding many serious issues, such as on-site drinking, substance abuse, abuse to staff, and quite frankly, I've heard other things I dare not say in this House," Hawkins said in his Feb. 10 member's statement. "As long as the GNWT's money is going in … as a major partner in this objective, we do have a say as to what is happening down there. We should have a say before we renew this particular contract," he continued. Hawkins said he wanted the shelter to be safe, respectful, positive and to commit to doing referrals. Citing complaints from occupants of three nearby residences, Hawkins told Yellowknifer he has asked that the three families who have been negatively impacted be consulted before funding is extended. "There is an expectation that the neighbours will have a say in this before any contract renewal," Hawkins said Monday. "I want the government to meet with the neighbours because the shelter seems to have this idea that everything's fine and it's not."
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