On Monday, the GNWT announced it has launched a new on-the-land camp on the Ingraham Trail for people in Yellowknife experiencing homelessness.
The camp is being run by NWT Integration and Community Services, or NWT-ICS, which began accepting people into the camp last Thursday.
NWT-ICS was founded in 2021 by a group of people who say their experience includes working on the front lines and in the administration of human services in Yellowknife.
The group saw a gap in services available to vulnerable people and wanted to step in, the organization’s executive director, Eric Neba, told Cabin Radio on Tuesday.
He said NWT-ICS started out as a volunteer-run initiative and became a registered non-profit in January 2023.
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Neba said the organization has received funding from the City of Yellowknife and federal government to run a program that prevents seniors from becoming homeless through advocacy and referrals to services.
When seniors have needs beyond existing services, Neba said NWT-ICS has helped bridge the gap.
“We’ve paid rent arrears, we’ve paid seniors’ moving costs,” he said.
Additionally, the organization said it runs a youth drop-in program that teaches computer literacy.
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Neba said NWT-ICS is renting a facility that can house 20 to 30 people in winterized dorm-style cabins, alongside a camp manager and on-site paramedic. (While neither NWT-ICS nor the GNWT have confirmed the precise location, Yellowknife North MLA Shauna Morgan said online that the project is using Camp Connections, near Reid Lake, which has hosted similar camps in the past.)
The application and screening processes for potential residents are being handled by major service providers in the city such as the Salvation Army, the Yellowknife Women’s Society and Home Base Yellowknife.
At the camp, NWT-ICS said, people are being offered culturally sensitive programs like craft making three times per week.
Counsellors come to do group sessions twice weekly and cover topics mutually agreed upon by participants.
NWT-ICS said it has also contracted Elders to facilitate on-the-land activities such as campfires, ice fishing and smudging.
“Our organization, together with the GNWT, actually put in a lot of time and a lot of thought as to what programs we are offering at the camp,” said Neba.
“Later this week, we’ll be having a lot of clients in with us, and we’re looking forward to actually depopulate the shelters.”
The new camp – which is considered temporary and expected to run for 10 weeks – is intended in part to relieve pressure on a shelter system that advocates have been saying is on the brink of collapse, and that the GNWT says has been operating beyond capacity.
Applications to participate in the camp are available from Yellowknife’s Integrated Service Delivery office at 4510 50 Avenue.
