The head of Yellowknife's Salvation Army wants the GNWT to find out why some shelters aren't being used and figure out how to fix the problem.
Salvation Army executive director Tony Brushett credits the territorial government's ongoing efforts and stressed that heSA国际影视传媒檚 not trying to single anyone out. But he has some concerns about the future of Yellowknife and its homeless population.
One notable example Brushett mentioned was a temporary transitional housing facility to be built on Highway 3, across from the citySA国际影视传媒檚 airport and next to the Folk on the Rocks parking lot. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no opening date for the site yet, but when it does open, one of BrushettSA国际影视传媒檚 biggest concerns is that not enough people will use it.
"If they're going to build a 25-bed facility on the other side of town here, can you say with 100 per cent confidence 25 people are going to use that?" he asked rhetorically. "If we open it and only six or eight people use it, then have we thrown good money into a bad program?"
Adding capacity is critical, Brushett noted. It is also something the GNWT has helped do. James Tolley, director of homelessness for Housing NWT, told SA国际影视传媒 that the department funds operations of three non-government organizations (NGOs) for 95 spaces for emergency homeless beds in Yellowknife. One of those is the Salvation Army, which offers up to 39 beds. There's also 45 mixed-gender beds at the Sobering Centre and 11 beds at the Women's Centre.
The city has a homeless population of about 330 people.
If a new facility opens and regular users of the Salvation Army move there, Brushett said it would free up more shelter beds. That is a good thing, but a key underlying issue would still remain.
"You still have that same fairly large population who won't come into the shelter," he said.
Capacity at the Salvation Army often fluctuates, said Brushett. As for why some people wonSA国际影视传媒檛 access shelter services, he said there are multiple reasons.
People might not come to the Salvation Army's shelter because it is only for men, he noted.
"They may have a partner of the opposite sex and there are no shelters here in Yellowknife that could take couples. Others might have a pet. Some are afraid of violence, which there can be," Brushett added.
Others could be banned, but the longest he would ever ban someone from the Salvation Army, unless there was a criminal act, is two weeks, said Brushett.
NWT Premier R.J. Simpson said his government is working with NGOs to improve service delivery.
"We want to ensure that if somebody needs a service, we are making it as easy for them to get that service as possible," he said.
Simpson also said the GNWT is trying to collect more information about the clientele who need assistance and develop a common database for all NGOs. Ideally, this would make sharing information among organizations easier, he said.
Within his own government, communication has been an ongoing challenge both with the public and internally, the premier acknowledged. It's something the GNWT is trying to improve, he said.
Specifically, Simpson noted two acts SA国际影视传媒� the Health Information Act and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act SA国际影视传媒� that are being reviewed for amendments to reduce communication barriers between departments.
"Sometimes we run into problems in government where government agencies who are trying to help the same person can't share information with each other about that person and that's hindering their ability to help that person," said Simpson.
Like Brushett, Simpson acknowledged there are many reasons why someone might not want to access a shelter. One possibility, he noted, is that some might simply prefer to remain outdoors.
"It could be that some people just want to sleep outside in the summer," he said. "There's a strong connection to the land and being outdoors is sometimes preferable than being in a shelter."
Simpson added that no matter a person's choice, he wants the GNWT to assist them however they need.
