The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (NTHSSA) will open a sobering shelter in downtown Yellowknife, adjacent to the Northern Lites Motel on 50th St. in mid-September.
The existing centre, coupled with other homelessness outreach programs have reduced public intoxication and reduced recurring emergency service clients, said Nadeau.
It gives clients access to services including identification and information on housing programs.
The new facility holds a maximum capacity of 60 people and briefly pauses its operations for two hours to undergo cleaning and disinfecting. Those hours coincide with the hours of the day shelter, with both facilities operating simultaneously for nine hours a day.
The Safe Harbour day shelter will be co-located with the new centre, said officials, though the date for that merger isn't clear.
To date, there have been 6013 intakes to the existing sobering centre, with 414 unique clients and a 90-10 split for men and women clients, said the health authority.
The building adjacent to the liquor store is being renovated with no fencing between the alley and the shelter, said Nathalie Nadeau, director of child, family and community wellness for NTHSSA.
To do so would create unnecessary limitations and impact the dignity of clients who would normally sleep in unsafe and unsecured locations.
The shelter will be able to administer, but not prescribe medications including those to mitigate symptoms of withdrawal. The authority could eventually expand its prescribing capabilities to further alleviate pressures on the hospital, said Nadeau.
The shelter provides clinical assessments and intervention — a move welcomed by Coun. Rommel Silverio who works as a nurse.
“I think I'm one of the most excited councillors because it will help big time in the hospital,” he said, of clinical services that will decrease minor injury referrals to the emergency room.
“I think this has been a long awaited journey for everyone in Yellowknife. This is one of the big items in the election in 2015 and the GNWT and the city can say that we are doing something. Thank you so much,” he said.
Neighbours left out of planning process
The building's features are intended to maximize safety and security for clients, said Nadeau.
The authority plans to host an open house for neighbours and will provide a contact for neighbours to raise any issues.
During Monday's municipal services council, NTHSSA representatives said they had contacted neighbours.
Two of them spoke up, including April Desjarlais, to note they were never contacted by either representative.
Desjarlais is a long-time Yellowknifer has owned the Finn Hansen Building since 2013.
“It wasn't until I had a ginormous trench beside my building that I went to the city,” she said.
Desjarlais unearthed the plans for the shelter by contacting a city engineer.
“I bought the building because I was excited about what the city had planned for the beautification of 50 Street. I was excited to be a part of that,” said Desjarlais.
Safety of tenants is the key concern, said Desjarlais, acknowledging that shelter services are simultaneously important.
“The fact that I'm a Yellowknifer, a Northerner, an aboriginal person, I recognize we have a need in this community and there's a lot of people who need help,” she said. “The communication has not been the best. A lot of people have questioned why you would put a sobering centre 50 feet from the liquor store.
“This isn't to say that people using the facility are going to be aggressive, but that's why it was important to understand the health authority's plan for safety and security."
“If it's modelled after the day shelter, that is a complete fail, if that's what's going to be coming next to us,” she said.
Since Monday's meeting, the authority reached out to Desjarlais, who independently contacted the owner of a nearby Subway restaurant to inform them of the plan presented Monday.
“They had a pretty fantastic (safety) plan on paper and now we have to see if they're going to implement it,” said Desjarlais.
Staffing numbers at the new centre will range between four and nine workers, with the highest number on duty when both the day and sobering shelter are open.
For nine hours a day, nine staff will be on duty. That includes a support worker at the front desk, a triage worker, medical technician, two day centre support workers, two float workers, a manager and one integrated case worker to connect individuals with social services and addictions treatment if requested, said Nadeau.
The initiative is entirely funded by the GNWT, she said.
The intake process is entirely voluntary, though the centre can refer individuals requiring medical attention to the hospital if deemed appropriate during medical clearance.
In 2018, only 87 of 6013 intakes had to be referred to Stanton Territorial, said Nadeau.
There are three separate sleeping areas for men and women, with three separate rooms to adjust for possible influxes in clientele, said Perry Heath, director of infrastructure planning for the health authority.
The facility is modelled with security in mind: special lighting outdoors, railings and non-slip floors to prevent falls and no places to conceal oneself. The floor plan mimics the flow of intake, and has CCTV surveillance cameras and secure storage for clients, said Heath.
The initiative is “very exciting” said Coun. Linda Bussey, who sits on the homelessness advisory board.
Coun. Adrian Bell had questions about security, citing his own encounters with calling RCMP over fights.
Bell had additional concerns about open consumption of alcohol in the tent behind Safe Harbour.
Security measures should be in place to ensure “respectful” use by clients, he said.
“My concern is that people are deemed to be violent and should not be brought into the facility then it would be the RCMP called. There’s no middle ground,” said Bell.
Surveillance and staff will ensure there are “eyes on when it comes to whats happening outside and inside the facility,” said Nadeau, adding that people with addictions aren't necessarily going to be violent.
If clients do become violent, the facility workers deescalate and make judgment calls about bringing in Mounties.
“We’ve seen some early success that shows we’re putting funding into harm reduction. It’s saving a lot of money ... in terms of inappropriate use of emergency services, which are costly compared to a sobering centre,” said Nadeau.
The authority is “proud” of future improvements to services, said Nadeau.
“We’re really glad to put more services that they can access more readily (...) and have them more on a road to recovery,” said Nadeau.