SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The John Howard Society isn't afraid of a little competition.
The contract for who will run the Dene Ko Day shelter in downtown Yellowknife for the coming year is going out for proposals this spring, according to a news release issued last week by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority (YHSSA).
The authority had stated only a month ago that the John Howard Society's contract was being extended until March 31, 2014.
"It doesn't bother us at all and it has had no impact on us at all," said Michael Keohane, president of the NWT chapter of the John Howard Society, in response to the announcement. "We're totally fine with it."
The society always assumed it would have to reapply for the contract to run the shelter once the pilot project had concluded, he said.
"We would like to have (the contract) again. We like working with those people," said Keohane, adding he had yet to hear of another group that plans to bid for the contract.
The John Howard Society has operated the downtown Yellowknife day shelter since YHSSA started the pilot project in 2009 in partnership with BHP Billiton, the City of Yellowknife and the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services.
Last Friday, YHSSA met with the John Howard Society and all shelter staff to provide information about the request for proposals.
Les Harrison, chief executive officer for YHSSA, was unavailable for comment by press time. However, in the March 14 news release he stated: "YHSSA values the work that the John Howard Society has done to provide day shelter service to shelter clients from Yellowknife, NWT communities and Nunavut communities."
Even if an organization other than the John Howard Society is awarded the contract for the coming year, current staff will remain to keep the shelter doors open up until the day the new contract-holders take over, stated the news release.
"Everybody is comfortable with the situation," said Keohane.
When asked if the society was considering adding more programming to its new proposal for the contract, Keohane said all day shelter staff are equipped to make referrals on behalf of clients who wish to seek addictions or other social services, many of which are located within blocks of the shelter.
"In my view, we're there to provide basic, core services," said Keohane. "We may look at expanded hours of operation, which to me is more important and more relevant than duplicating services."
Keohane was sympathetic to recent criticism of the shelter, in which Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, city councillor Niels Konge and others said the shelter's location has caused increased problems in the surrounding area. It is no secret having a homeless shelter centralizes where the city's homeless hang out, Keohane said.
"Everybody is concerned about this. We don't want to make any bones about the fact there may be people in the shelter who pose a risk to other people," said Keohane. "We do ask the community as a whole to consider we have been doing this for a few years now and there have been very few incidents."
Moving the shelter to another area of the city would not make sense, because day shelter users would likely not want to walk to another side of town, he added.
Moving the shelter would perpetuate problems of Yellowknife's homeless population hanging out in stairwells and other public spaces throughout the day to stay warm, he said.
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