CLASSIFIEDSADVERTISINGSPECIAL ISSUESONLINE SPORTSOBITUARIESNORTHERN JOBSTENDERS

NNSL Photo/Graphic


NNSL photo/graphic

Home page text size buttonsbigger textsmall textText size Email this articleE-mail this page

Pilot project chases social solutions
Youth centre, small houses may be in the cards for Fort Providence

April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, January 28, 2016

DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
Hard-to-house people in Fort Providence may see some relief soon, if CAPS has any say in the matter.

NNSL photo/graphic

Pat Mazerolle, left, holds the ticket box for Leonie Lafferty, right, to draw from. In front of them are Gary Fields and Faith Bonnetrouge. - April Hudson/NNSL photo

CAPS, the Community Advancement Partnership Society, was formed in November by five business people hoping to find solutions for people who are homeless.

Currently, that solution takes the form of Chase the Ace, a game where people buy tickets for a chance to win cash prizes. Tickets are put into a container and one is drawn weekly. Twenty per cent of ticket sales go to the weekly winner, while another 30 per cent of sales accumulates in a jackpot. The winner then gets to draw from a deck of cards for a shot at the jackpot, which currently sits at $800.

The game has been underway for six weeks.

Society member Pat Mazerolle spent the afternoon of Jan. 23 selling tickets at the Snowshoe Cafe. He said the group has sold about $2,700 worth of tickets up to this point, with 50 per cent of that destined for housing and a youth centre.

Mazerolle said the society's goal is to raise $600,000. With that, they plan to build a single building with small units, with seven units in one building.

The units will be for people who have difficulty getting on the Northwest Territories Housing Corporation's waitlist.

"We don't want to just house and forget about them but we don't want to take on the role of social workers. We want to be something in between," Mazerolle said.

"We want to help them improve their lifestyle, and maybe get out of the small (unit) into a better house, get a job, get off their addictions - without drawing lines in the sand."

Mazerolle said the development will act as a pilot project and, if successful, could provide hope to other communities struggling with the same issues.

He added that homelessness can be difficult to tackle in small communities because it is often less visible than in larger communities.

"It's not the same as homelessness in Yellowknife or Edmonton. Hard-to-house people and people who can't get housing, it's not like they're right on the street," he said.

Instead, people without homes often sleep on the couches of friends and relatives, or live in substandard shacks, he said.

Deh Cho MLA Michael Nadli has spoken out in the legislative assembly about the need for improved housing.

During a territorial leadership committee meeting on Dec. 14, while laying out his priorities for the new legislative assembly, Nadli said the government must focus on providing assistance for homelessness.

"Our greatest resource is our people, individuals and families who make up the NWT. The basic needs of food, shelter and a sense of belonging are in some cases a matter of survival," he said.

CAPS formed with a purpose

When the society formed in November, Mazerolle says it was because members felt the need to take matters into their own hands.

Currently, the group has five members, whom Mazerolle describes as mostly business people.

"We know how to get things done ... (and) we actually do things pretty fast," Mazerolle said.

One of the first things they did was draw up a list of names of people known to be having difficulties finding housing in Fort Providence.

That list came out to 64 names.

Their next order of business will be to draw up a list of people who want to get into the proposed housing development.

Mazerolle acknowledges the problem of homelessness is not a quick fix but said the project could put a dent in the number of people who are homeless in the hamlet.

"You're not going to fix (homelessness) overnight. It's going to take several years - perhaps a generation," he said.

"Some people may be critical (in the future) and say, 'Gee, you've been operating for six months, why hasn't it changed yet?' Well, let's look at it in six years."

Aside from the $600,000 the society is looking to raise for their small-unit building, it is also hoping to build a youth centre which Mazerolle said could cost around $400,000.

Mazerolle's vision is a centre run by youth, for youth.

"I think that is an integral part of trying to fix the whole social aspect," he said.

The centre could include a small business, such as a concession stand, giving youth a shot at some business experience. However, he stressed the youth themselves will be in charge of deciding what goes into the centre.

"It'll be what they want, not what adults think they want. They'll have their own board of directors; we'll teach them how to run the facility. That's our goal," he said.

Chase the Ace runs Saturdays at both the Snowshoe Cafe and the Big River Service Station.

E-mailWe welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.