Fort Simpson homeless shelter plans for new building

Architectural plans for a new homeless shelter in Fort Simpson are ready. Now operators say they need funding and a plot of land to make it a reality.

“It will be a major addition to the town when we have a really big, beautiful new building like that,” said Chuck Blyth, president of the Dehcho Society for Wellness and Sustainable Development.

He said the architectural plans are inspired by a shelter in Dawson City, Yukon, which includes both emergency shelter beds and transitional housing units, allowing residents to move along the housing continuum.

Blyth said the shelter has received funding from the territorial government to address much-needed repairs at the existing building.

The shelter is currently being run out of a former storefront on 100 St on the village’s island.

Preparation of the architectural plans for a new building was funded through the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. Sean Whelly, a member of the board of the Dehcho society, said he hasn’t seen any open grant applications that could help fund the build, though some may be opening up this year.

Previously, a proposal was made to move the shelter into the Pentecostal Calvary Chapel, a log cabin-style building on the island. But Blyth said the board was concerned some people may not feel comfortable living in a church, given the colonial impact of religion in the North and elsewhere.

Some of the church’s neighbours also expressed opposition to the proposal, Blyth said, and it would have seen residents living in the basement of the building, which does have the necessary fire exits.

The shelter first opened in Fort Simpson nearly four years ago and is currently housing about 10 people, Blyth said, but it is nearing capacity.

It is open 24-hours a day and offers meals and support for things like getting government-issued identification and filing taxes.

The shelter has run some land-based programming, and Whelly said the shelter wants to partner with the Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ First Nation to run more land-based and addictions programming. He said the shelter also wants to expand an existing mushroom foraging program into an overnight trip this year.

Blyth said building a new homeless shelter in Fort Simpson could have the added benefit of taking the pressure off Yellowknife’s shelter system, which has been overburdened in recent years.

Before a local shelter opened, Blyth said, he would sometimes see people without housing from Fort Simpson make their way to Yellowknife to access services like shelters. He said having a shelter in the village helps keep people in the Dehcho region.