Plan to end homelessness expected in June
City, consultant working on report
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
A 10-year plan to end homelessness in the city has begun with a draft expected to be presented to city council in June.
Coun. Linda Bussey (left) , chairperson of the community advisory board on homelessness, sits with the city's homelessness co-ordinator Dayle Hernblad during a meeting Monday at city hall. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo |
The city selected Turner Research & Strategy Inc. in Calgary to develop the plan for $95,238 after getting six bids through a request for proposals process.
The money comes from funds provided to the city by the federal government for homelessness projects.
Alina Turner, the company's founder, outlined how her team of four will develop the plan in the coming months on Monday, when she phoned into the city's Community Advisory Board on Homelessness meeting.
She said the plan will need to be something that has achievable goals, not a report that sits on a shelf.
"That's not what I'm into - I want to implement the plan," said Turner.
The city aims to reduce the average person's stay in a homeless shelter to 14 days or less by 2027 and ultimately ensure no one lives on the street or in a shelter longer than two weeks before having access to housing and supports.
One important aspect of the plan will be to figure out the level of support the city can expect from the territorial government, Turner said.
The plan will be developed through research that's already underway and two team members travelling to the city sometime in February or March to meet with up to 60 people to gather input through one-on-one meetings instead of large community events.
Coun. Linda Bussey, chairperson of the advisory board, asked Turner to provide a mid-point update on the team's progress to city council.
Turner has carried out similar projects for larger cities such as Fredericton, N.B., St. John's, N.L., Calgary and Medicine Hat, Alta.
Bussey said she's excited about the start of the work.
"She's done incredible work across the country," she said in an interview.
Iris Hamlyn, executive director of SideDoor Youth Ministries, agreed.
"I'm quite confident she's going to do a great job," she said at the advisory board meeting, noting she has previously worked with Turner.
The community advisory board is the city's avenue for homelessness projects like Housing First. The board allocates funding received through the federal Homelessness Partnering Strategy. The city received extra money last year to spend over this and the next fiscal year, some of which will be used for the development of the homelessness plan.
The plan was one of the recommendations of the Yellowknife Homelessness Roadmap Action plan, which was created after a homelessness summit in April of last year.
