Honing job skills with doghouses
Program helps people with disabilities work on their trades
Robin Grant
Northern News Services
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A spare pile of lumber at the Yellowknife Association for Community Living (YKACL) was transformed into three carefully crafted doghouses last winter.
Donna Allen's adopted dog, Baloo, rests in a doghouse built by men participating in a Yellowknife Association for Community Living (YKACL) program. The program encourages participants to practice vocational skills. - photo courtesy of Donna Allen
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The houses were painted in the spring and are now up for sale.
The woodworking took place during a program run by YKACL for individuals with disabilities who are going through difficult patches in life.
YKACL executive director Lynn Elkin said the project came about when one of the male participants said he could work with wood.
"The doghouses were good practice for this gentleman and the others to just refresh those skills," she said. "The idea is to prepare people to go out in the community to do real work in real job settings."
During the program, participants work on projects that allow them to practice vocational skills with the goal of helping them re-integrate into the community.
Because each group session is based on the unique skills of the participants, the curriculum varies with each session.
One dog owner has already bought a doghouse.
Yellowknife resident Donna Allen said she was walking past the YKACL building on 53 Street and noticed the colourful, wood houses.
She said her family recently adopted a dog from the shelter and she thought one of them would be a good winter home for the pet, named Baloo.
"It's really nice," she said. "When I went in to ask about it and found out how it'd been built by their clients, I just thought it would be a great thing to do."
YKACL has two doghouses left for sale at $250 each. The money will go to the individual who made them, minus the cost of supplies.
In the last year, YKACL has been conducting more public outreach and looking for additional ways for people to connect with the non-profit. This program is a result of this effort.
