Yellowknife city council looking at options to reduce homelessness

Yellowknife city council is debating how to spend $1.6 million in federal funding to reduce and prevent homelessness. 

While some of the funding may be spent to address temporary concerns, like supporting people that are overdue on rent, some councillors are hoping it can also be used to support permanent solutions that address chronic homelessness in the city.

Last year, the city received additional funding from the Reaching Home initiative, which is part of Canada's strategy to end homelessness, in order to reduce the risk of harm faced by those who are housing insecure amid the pandemic. 

In total, the city has received just under $2 million.

Funding recommendations

While a portion of the funding has already been allocated to local non-governmental organizations — including the Salvation Army, the Side Door and the Yellowknife Women's Society — the city's community advisory board on homelessness recommended that $778,000 be spent for specific programs and services, like supporting those with outstanding rental arrears. 

It also recommended that $320,000 be used to "top up" the wages of staff that support the delivery of homelessness programs at NGOs. 

Mayor Rebecca Alty said that the wage increase would be temporary and similar to the hero pay that some service workers in the country are receiving as hazard pay. 

The board recommended the remaining funding go towards continuing to pay YWCA family unit leases and expanding the hours for which the public washrooms downtown at the Somba K'e Civic Plaza are open. 

All of the money must be spent by the end of June. The city has to report how it intends to spend that money by the end of March. 

Hoping to fund more permanent solutions

The money must be spent on programs which meet one or more of the three priorities outlined in the Reaching Home directives, which are:

• Extending COVID-19 measures for those experiencing homelessness.

• Finding permanent housing for those temporarily housed.

• Helping communities to reduce the inflow into homelessness, including homelessness prevention and shelter diversion activities.

In a committee meeting on Monday, councillors asked whether that funding could be used towards more permanent solutions, like fixing some of the issues that the Salvation Army overnight shelter faces after flooding on Sunday.

However, Alty said that one of the biggest challenges in allocating the money to more permanent housing projects is that the "federal directives are quite restrictive and the money has to be spent so quickly."

Yellowknife's city administrator, Sheila Bassi-Kellett, said the city is working with the Salvation Army to see what the scope of the damage on the building is and whether any of the Reaching Home funding can be used for repairs if needed. 

The committee is meeting again today to go over proposals that could see more permanent solutions. 

There is $800,000 in funding that has not been recommended for specific projects.