Fort Providence raises cash for homeless
Fundraising group aims to raise
$600,000 for housing
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Monday, February 1, 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.
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. 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 wait list.
"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.
When the society formed in November, Mazerolle says it was because members felt the need to take these issues 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.
