Safe homes open in the Dehcho and Sahtu

Safe homes in Fort Good Hope and Fort Simpson now offer space for people facing family violence in the NWT’s Dehcho and Sahtu regions.

“Some women felt like they had no option but to go to Yellowknife or Inuvik, and now they have somewhere within their region,” said Brenda Tseleie, Fort Good Hope’s safe homes coordinator.

Through a YWCA NWT-backed pilot project, Fort Good Hope launched its safe home in February 2023. The Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation in Fort Simpson opened a safe home over the summer.

Funding runs until October 2024, backed by federal cash aimed at ending gender-based violence that was initially awarded to the YWCA in 2020.

“This is really about making sure we’re providing survivors with more options,” said Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, YWCA NWT’s executive director.

She said the safe homes allow people a “space within their community where they can go for a short time during a crisis.”

Communities were selected for the pilot project based on their location as well as the interest and needs they voiced.

“For 17 years I’ve lived in this community. I’ve been actively supporting women and children in their time of need and crisis, and we’ve essentially had no safe place for women and children,” said Amy Fraser, the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation’s regional victim services coordinator.

Fraser says she is “beyond thankful” for the partnership with the YWCA but, to properly address family violence in the Dehcho, more must be done to work with families and tackle the underlying factors.

The First Nation is working to establish a permanent shelter and transitional housing for women, according to Fraser, who said its leadership had been “very supportive” and “genuinely cares.”

“If we’re talking about developing healthy communities, if we are actually saying that we need to put children first, families first, then we need to be showing up for the things that matter,” said Fraser.

“This is a crucial part of that. These conversations are difficult but necessary.”

Residents of the First Nation’s safe home have access to food, shelter and transportation, as well as counselling, a women’s healing circle and on-the-land programs.

In Fort Good Hope, Tseleie said residents have access to services through partnerships with other community organizations, like the local sewing group.

With the safe homes established, work is taking place to let people know that they exist and how to access them.

Confidentiality is key in smaller communities, according to Dumbuya-Sesay, who said education efforts try to explain the things that happen at a safe home, like the kind of emergency housing on offer, the privacy you get, and the crisis support you can access.

“This has never been a service offered, and it takes a lot of courage to leave a domestic situation,” said Fraser.

“We’re here to help,” said Tseleie. “We’re here to listen and to kind-of channel you through your hardship, and reach out to resources for you.”

Both safe homes say they have received positive feedback from their communities and are working on strategic plans to establish themselves on a permanent basis.

In collaboration with the K’asho Got’ı̨nę Housing Society, the Fort Good Hope safe home plans to expand its work by securing modular homes.

At the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation, funding has proven to be the greatest barrier.

“We need it and everybody knows we need it, but it always comes down to money, and it’s just the matter of people funding this very necessary project,” said Fraser. “We have this ability and capability to have the resources here to help our loved ones in our region.”

Dumbuya-Sesay says once the pilot project is complete, she hopes to secure funding that will sustain the safe homes “beyond the life of this pilot” and expand to other communities in the North.

“This is really about making sure we’re providing survivors with more options,” she said.

“If we can have more shelters across the territory, then we can be able to really start addressing some of the root causes of family violence.”

Dehcho residents looking for more information or support can call 867-695-1800. Sahtu residents looking for more information or support can call 867-444-1142.