Yellowknife Homelessness Report Card 2008 - YWCA Canada

... & Related Community ServicesMeals & FoodThe Salvation Army provideslunch and dinner to anyone inYellowknife 7 days a week.Meals are also provided at theCentre for Northern Famlies forwomen. Supporting theseorganizations are numerouscitizens who donate food andother needed items.The Yellowknife Food Bankoperates through dedicatedvolunteers who give up theirSaturday mornings and timeduring the week to help providefood to those in need.Approximately 130 bags of foodare provided to individuals andfamilies on any given Saturdaymorning.Food Rescue is a new volunteerprogram that supplies fooddonated by local businesses toservice providers in YK. Food isdelivered through the labourintensive efforts of Ruby & LaurinTrudel and other volunteers. FoodRescue helps to reduce foodcosts at YK organizations &provides nourishment to citizens.Health ServicesSeveral organizations providemedical services to the homeless.Drop-in medical clinics areavailable once a week at theCentre for Northern Families aswell as The Salvation Army.Dental Services are availablethroughout the city. Mental HealthServices can be accessed throughHealth and Social Services andother community organizations.Stanton Regional Hospital plays akey role in keeping people in ourcommunity healthy.Non-sheltering Agencies,Businesses & IndividualsNumerous non-shelteringorganizations, businesses andindividuals within the City help toprovide shelter and assistance tothe homeless on a day to daybasis. Many people go out oftheir way to help out where theycan, sometimes withoutappreciation or understanding bythe homeless of these donationsand efforts. Thank you for yourcontributions Yellowknife!The TheSalvation SalvationArmyArmyYWCA YWCARockhill RockhillHousing HousingProgramProgramRCMP AdmissionsSubstance Use in the NorthThe RCMP admissions forintoxicated related cases are notincluded in the homelessnessstatistics on the front page of thisreport. This is due in part to thefact that not all of the cases dealwith people who are homeless.However, some of the people arehomeless and would otherwise bestaying in shelters. Some chronicusers of substances repeatedlyalternate between Yellowknifeshelters and the RCMP. Totalannual nightly admissions to theRCMP for 2008 were 5,219.The RCMP, FireDepartment/Medics and StantonRegional Hospital spend anextraordinary amount of timeattending to individuals who haveused substances. The Coroner’soffice reports alcohol-relateddeaths and this number has beensignificant over the years. Whilesubstance use is not alwaysconnected to homelessness,often it is a key factor. Do wehave a substance use problem inthe north? If yes, what shouldwe do about it?Centre Centrefor forNorthern NorthernFamiliesFamiliesThe The SideDoorIt’s likely not all about lack of funding or insufficient resources. How canunderstanding, gratitude and accountability reduce homelessness?9