SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A new initiative launched by the Yellowknife Association of Community Living hopes to address the needs of men who have fallen upon hard times and are ready to re-ignite their desire for life.

The association's Dene-Inuit men's outreach group, a weekly program that started in November, allows middle-aged men who are homeless or in transitional housing to meet regularly and support one another.

Meetings take place at the Abe Miller Building every Wednesday where the men cook meals, discuss how to reconnect with lost skills and how to mutually benefit from them. Two of the men involved are Inuk Charlie, of Taloyoak, Nunavut and Alex Washie of Behchoko.

Both had been staying at the Bailey House transitional home when recruitment efforts were held by the association in November looking for skilled men without a stable home.

"I do carving and jewelry but I found (what the association was providing) was a good outlet because I found there is no place to carve at all," said Charlie.

He added it is a rare occasion for him to be in contact with other men who have strengths in other hands-on arts and crafts.

"For me this couldn't have come at a better time."

Washie, who was also staying at the same housing unit, has a background in leather work, cabinet making and carpentry.

He explained the fell away from regularly practising his skills over the years but when the association presented an opportunity to join other men to re-engage with traditional skills he jumped at the chance.

"For me it is all very educational and a chance to promote myself and my skills," Washie said.

"What I have found so far is that we are really among a group of professionals here."

While the group is in its early stages, annual funding of $120,000 is provided by the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services through its community wellness funding. Members hope ways can be found in the future where material relevant to their trades can be purchased so that in a year's time, goods can be marketed and sold to the community.

Lynn Elkin, executive director of the association, said it recognized over the last year that there was a demographic of older men on Yellowknife's streets not taking advantage of services that could help meet their challenges in life - whether due to health or social causes. As a result, some men weren't advancing or were running into problems with the justice system when services such as a social group could help.

"We felt we were missing this segment of a group of 20- to 50-year-old men," she said. "These are people who were hidden in the community and didn't know (about) the support that could help. We kept hearing from our foster families that people would graduate from the system and then disappear onto the street."

Prince Atewogboye, an outreach facilitator organizing the meetings, said he began looking to recruit men who may have fallen through the cracks due to various challenges in August. He went to places like A&W and organizations like Bailey House where people on the streets tend to frequent.

"We had the idea in August but we had work to do to talk to them and gain their trust and tell (them) what our outreach objectives were," he said. "We felt there was great potential to bring people out from the streets because they have skills and it was just a matter of talking to them."

Atewogboye said what he found amazed him, with such talents as a painter who could draw high quality cartoons and others who were talented in other areas like music, sewing and glass making.

Elkin said she is pleased with the program's early success. The meeting on Jan. 13 saw 15 men attend.

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