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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A decision by the Yellowknife YWCA director to pull out of the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition will not derail fundraising for the BETTY House project in any way, according to Mayor Gord Van Tighem.

A news release by the City of Yellowknife on June 29 stated that despite the departure, "work will continue within the confines of the coalition to make BETTY House a reality."

Last month, YWCA executive director Lyda Fuller cited frustration and "disrespectful behavior" during meetings in an e-mail to various homelessness coalition members as the reasons why the YWCA would leave the coalition. She estimated it would take 295 more years to raise the $3 million needed to start construction on the 30-suite building on 54 Street, future site of the transition home for women and children.

According to Van Tighem, the financial ball never stopped rolling because efforts to raise money for the house have not ceased.

"Many people, companies and governments have put a lot of effort in and provided initial planning and funding," he said. "At the request of the YWCA representative on the fundraising committee, a company (Goldie) that evaluates and designs fundraising campaigns was contracted and has prepared a report that moves the fundraising efforts to the next level."

He mentioned the Bailey House, a transitional home for men at risk of homelessness, as a successful model the remaining coalition participants can follow.

Some of the Goldie employees also worked on the initial fundraising for the Stanton Hospital Foundation a few years ago.

YWCA director of community relations, Julie Green, declined to comment when asked about the fundraising complications faced by the coalition, which were the basis for Fuller's follow-up letter to co-chairs Amanda Mallon and Pastor Kirk Tastad.

Questions were raised following the YWCA pull-out, as it had been designated by the coalition to run the BETTY House upon its completion.

The city's release stated that "since the YWCA still wants to operate BETTY House the City of Yellowknife, as the legal entity that will construct BETTY House, will continue legal discussions to clarify the obligations of each party."

"There has not been any change to who might operate it, at this point," Van Tighem said.

The Better Environment to Transition in Yellowknife house is more than two years in the making.

According to the release, indications are that construction will be able to start next spring.

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