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Yellowknife council shows support for Aurora College location for temporary day shelter

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With the cold weather drawing nearer, city council showed little interest Monday in providing city-owned facilities as additional space for Yellowknife's street-involved population.

Department of Health and Social Services officials provided a list of optional locations for a temporary day shelter space and asked for feedback from councillors during Monday's governance and priorities committee meeting. The GNWT is intending to pursue a development permit to provide space for 30 to 50 people in need over the winter months and up to March 31, 2021.

Among the possible locations presented on Monday included one GNWT facility – the Aurora College building between Coyote's Bistro and Lahm Ridge Tower; three city facilities – the public library, the library meeting room, and the DND gym at the Multiplex; two private facilities – H&R Block and the bowling alley; and five land spaces for ATCO-type prefabricated structures – the Northern Frontier's Visitors Centre's former lot, the Prince of Wales Heritage Centre parking lot, the pool and tennis courts parking lot, the Multiplex parking lot, and the former lot of the YWCA Rockhill apartments.

The GNWT Department of Health and Social Services has been trying to locate a temporary day shelter in the downtown core that could be used to help Yellowknife's street-involved population. 
image courtesy of the GNWT

Council showed the most support for the Aurora College location, dismissing the city options altogether.

Last month, city council turned down a proposal by Health and Social Services to provide temporary shelter at the city-owned Mine Rescue Building on 49 Avenue for vulnerable people during the winter months up to March 31, 2021.

That decision came after area businesses railed against the proposal, largely stating that they didn't want perceived problems associated with the day shelter and sobering centre hurting their operations, which have already been suffering during the Covid-19 pandemic.

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"Fall is upon us and it's time that we are able to narrow something down," said Sheila Bassi-Kellett, senior administrative officer. "The city's role in this is to really work closely with the GNWT Department of Health and Social Services. We have been working together to consider alternate locations for the temporary day shelter. And this, of course, we know is required to support physical distancing for vulnerable people in being able to access a warm place to be."

Sara Chorostkowski, director of the mental wellness and addictions recovery division with the health department, stated that the GNWT wanted to get a sense of what would be an appropriate location. Among the identified criteria were a building in close proximity to the downtown core, street-level accessibility, and enough space to provide for a minimum of 30 people to meet Covid-19 related physical distancing requirements.

Other department officials present at Monday's meeting were Perry Heath, director of infrastructure planning, and Jenna Scarfe, director of mental health and addiction.

Also present during the meeting were Neesha Rao, interim executive director of the Yellowknife Women’s Society, and Nick Sowsun, who had started a Facebook page called the Concerned Yellowknife Residents for a Day Shelter Downtown.

If Health and Social Services can negotiate terms for use of the Aurora College site, the location would then be subject to public feedback directed to council and then council's decision to issue a conditional use permit.