Inuvik Works and Next to New ‘make positive change quickly’

“When you’ve got that will and you’ve got that passion, direction and excitement, it just shows we can make positive change in our community quickly.”

Jennifer Parrott is impressed. Just over half a year ago, Parrott and other town councillors were discussing how to bring back the Inuvik Works program. Already, the program’s rebirth has come to pass.

Inuvik Works is designed to help people who aren’t in the local workforce find their way back to employment, with assistance where needed.

The program and an associated thrift store, Next to New, are based in the same building on Inuvik’s Berger Street. They have attracted more than $300,000 in funding over the next four years.

Patricia Davison is managing the municipally backed relaunch of Inuvik Works, which had been inactive for years, and the thrift store, which is set to open in the coming days. She said Next to New is just waiting for a new point-of-sale system to arrive before opening.

On Friday, local dignitaries were given a tour of the premises ahead of the opening day.

“It meets a need that’s been around town for quite a long time,” said councillor Parrott about Inuvik Works, which attempts to match people looking for work with jobs that need doing around the community. If extra training or supports like counselling are needed, Inuvik Works can help arrange that.

“It provides the opportunity for hope and an alternative source of employment for many different populations within our community, whether they’re underemployed or lacking some of the requirements to be employed in other areas,” said Parrott.

“It’s a great example that shows people come together with a common interest and a passion to make a change within our community.”

Davison and other team members have received training on how to run a thrift store and have spent recent weeks meticulously sorting, labelling and arranging thousands of pounds of donated items.

At the front of the store – a former shelter that residents say is now unrecognizable, such is the effort that has gone into its makeover – you can find a section marked Whale of a Deal.

“If it doesn’t look as fresh as it could, it would go to our Whale of a Deal sale section,” said Davison. “People can come in and if they’re going out on the land or to whaling camp, they can come and get some stuff for very economical prices.”

Elsewhere, the price you pay is never more than half the brand-new price of the same item – and usually lower. Clothing, jewellery, shoes, hardware, electronics and a section for vintage items are examples of what you can find.

“Next to New provides a wonderful space to shop, to provide dignity to shopping of any type, and some really wonderful supplies are out there that would otherwise go to the landfill,” said Parrott.

The store has relied on various people, including some of the first Inuvik Works participants, to get things ready.

“We have one of our crew who’s amazing at cleaning anything. We had a pair of shoes, and he’s like, ‘Give them to me,'” said Davison about Alfred Kendi’s ability to make any pair of shoes look new again.

“He took them to the back, he was back there for a while and he brought them out, and it looked like a totally different pair of shoes. He has some really useful skills for our store.”

She described Corey Kasook as a “master floor layer” for his work to transform the building’s flooring, while Stanley Gordon has helped in various areas. Also present on Friday was Angus Alunik, whom Davison described as the “Inuvik Works crew foreman, making sure the folks are at the site and have what they need.”

Amanda Pokiak submitted the winning design in a contest to create a new Inuvik Works logo. Linda Stewart, part of the Next to New team, came up with the winning Next to New logo design.

So far, Inuvik Works has attracted enough willing workers to help three Elders and a couple of local organizations. Davison said tasks include cleaning yards, doing dump runs, painting and cleaning buildings and general maintenance.

“Our crew just finished three days of training with the Gwich’in Tribal Council. We have a beautiful partnership with them and a training plan, and so they started with soft skills for three days and they loved it,” she said.

“The whole premise of Inuvik Works is to support the vulnerable population. It might be somebody who’s struggling to get on a career path for one reason or another, and so we help them by giving them work placements and training.

“I have my friends that hang out in front of my building often, and some of them come to see me daily to tell me what part of the path they’re on, and they hope to come work for me, but they’re just not quite ready yet.

“We don’t expect them to stay and work for us. We’re hoping they will go and find their path and what they want to do.”