Yellowknife puts $120K from Housing First initiative toward youth shelter

The City of Yellowknife's Community Advisory Board on Homelessness has agreed to give a local transitional home and emergency drop-in centre for youth$120,000 of federal funding that was previously earmarked for developing a "housing first"model for the city's homeless.

Under a housing first model, priority is put on finding permanent homes for the homeless instead of emergency shelters, before attempting to deal with other problems such as drug and alcohol abuse.

The city tapped into federal funding with its five-year Homelessness Partnering Strategy that was approved by council in 2014. The strategy has three priorities:

1. Transition to a Housing First approach to address homelessness
2. Providing housing options for youth
3. Integrated Service Supports

Grant White, Yellowknife's director of Community Services, said the advisory board would not have received the funds if it didn't reassign the money to another priority under the strategy. The Hope's Haven shelter and transitional homeopened on 52 Street last summer.

Gino Pin, with Homeful Partnership, a non-governmental organization working to get homeless off the streets of Yellowknife, said he's frustrated with the lack of progress made by the city and territorial governments in solving homelessness.

"It's very fragmented. We were seeing a lot of verbal activity, but very little...development of a solution," said Pin.

"Our feeling is that it may be that the bureaucratic individuals are afraid of failure, and the effect of failure."

Pin also blames a lack of leadership to guide the process to a solution.

"It won't move without leadership," said Pin. "And without some quick action we could be in the same position in a year from now."

LindaBussey,chair of the Community Advisory Board on Homelessness, did not immediately respond to CBC's interview request.

The mayor of Yellowknife was also not available for comment.

The advisory board has cancelled an April 6 point-in-time homeless count.

White said the housing first program could start to roll out this fall.