Review of homelessness recommendations starts
Housing First contract not yet concluded says councillor
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Nearly three months after dozens of community members gathered to develop a plan to address homelessness, a report with the recommendations has been released by the NWT Housing Corporation.
The recommendations are in part being examined by a committee organized by Mayor Mark Heyck to determine which ones should take priority. That committee began its work when it met Friday and again Monday for "orientation" of its nine members, said the mayor. Heyck said the group is expected to continue meeting once per week through August.
The report highlights that the two-day meeting in April saw discussion of how the complexities of dealing with homelessness lead to ineffective action or inaction so far.
The report is a summary of what was heard at the event organized by Caroline Cochrane, the minister responsible for homelessness and states there was a view expressed that no level of government has taken adequate responsibility for the issue or acknowledged there is shared responsibility.
Some of the recommendations include better tracking of medical travel users to "encourage" return trips to communities; studying creation of a "safe ride" program for those intoxicated or high on drugs instead of relying on police or an ambulance; consolidating and analyzing shelter use data; developing a 10-year homelessness plan for the city; better management of public expectations of what can be accomplished; and working with aboriginal governments.
Leading up to the April meeting that prompted the report, Heyck said immediate action was needed to address a homelessness crisis in the city.
Asked about his earlier comments about wanting fast action and the months-long delay in even getting the report public, the mayor said some ways to address the issue are already being implemented, such as Housing First and expansion of shelters.
"They take time to implement and get rolling on," Heyck said last week.
The summer months are a good time when other commitments aren't as demanding to meet and work on details, the mayor said.
The contract for Housing First with the Yellowknife Women's Society had not yet been finalized as of last week. The program would see those facing chronic homelessness placed in housing units with support services provided.
The city has yet to decide how to allocate additional money it is receiving from the federal government through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, said Coun. Linda Bussey. That decision is expected to occur in August said Bussey, who leads the city's Community Advisory Board on Homelessness.
A second committee formed after the workshop that includes non-governmental organizations and GNWT will examine barriers and duplication in current homelessness programs.
But the reports and meetings won't end there. The work of the two committees will compiled into what the NWT Housing Corp. report describes as "a comprehensive strategic framework with a clear plan for implementation of priority actions, listing outcomes and timelines."
Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green had criticized the outcome of the workshop as resulting in only commitments for more talk.
The full 40-page report is available on the Housing Corp. website in the publications section.
It includes the results of a survey of those who attended the April workshop, indicating 76 per cent of respondents were satisfied with the outcome of the meeting.
However, 69.6 per cent of survey respondents felt the event "did not address the objective of developing a detailed plan of action" to mitigate homelessness and its impacts.
