The issue:
Detox centre
We say:
Yk needs it
A quiet transformation has taken place on 50 Street, and it's leading to positive transformations for a number of troubled individuals.
In response to the Covid-19 crisis, the Sobering Centre/Day Shelter was turned into a 30-day quarantine site in the early days of April to protect high-risk homeless people.
The 30-plus clients housed inside the facility want to be there, they signed up for it.
Many of these people suffer from serious addictions. The idea of cutting them off from all their vices seems appealing but, in reality, the withdrawal symptoms that many addicts experience are severe and that would be exacerbated by being confined in close quarters.
The NWT Disabilities Council, which runs the shelter, prohibits illegal drugs on the premises but management wisely decided to allow clients to consume limited amounts of alcohol. This has resulted in a striking reduction in imbibing among these individuals and many clients are reporting that they're feeling better than they have in a long time.
By way of example, the disabilities council shared some of the dramatic differences. One person went from drinking 12 bottles of mixed vodka and malt liquor (Private Stock) daily to just a single mickey of vodka per day. Another dropped consumption from eight bottles of malt liquor per day to only one bottle. There are close to 20 other similar stories.
Clients are expressing a greater sense of wellbeing: "Feeling healthier; more active with chores and activities; safer; adjusting to routine; sleeping and eating better; better hygiene; making goals for the future," one anonymous individual stated. There are plenty more comments like it.
Still feeling skeptical? 
Ask April Desjarlais about the change. She's the landlord of the Finn Hansen Building next door. Desjarlais has been outspoken about the loitering and unruly – occasionally criminal – behaviour by some Sobering Centre/Day Shelter clients since the $1.46 million facility opened on Sept. 24, 2018.
"I definitely have seen a positive change," Desjarlais told Yellowknifer last week. "It's a testament to the community's need for a facility, a proper facility, where these programs can occur."
She's right.
The transformation of the Sobering Centre/Day Shelter has essentially created a detox centre, and Yellowknife does need such a service. Sending addicts down south is not the best use of taxpayers' money.
Yellowknife still requires a day shelter too. These critical facilities and services aren't just for residents of our city. Many struggling and homeless people from across the territory and even from Nunavut wind up settling in the NWT capital. We must be equipped to provide the help they need.
The Sobering Centre/Day Shelter concept was turned away by close to two dozen landlords before finding a place to call home (full disclosure: Northern News Services, which prints Yellowknifer, owns the building). Yes, there have been some alarming incidents in the vicinity of the building. But Yellowknife's downtown has been plagued with drunken and disorderly conduct for decades, and things definitely weren't better when there was even less help available for addicts and the homeless.
The pandemic has forced the hand of Sobering Centre/Day Shelter management to try something different and it's paid dividends.
Let's not squander the opportunity to build on this.