Dwelling Base YK opened its doorways to Yellowknife’s neighborhood with a Thursday open home, permitting residents to see the group’s newly renovated youth housing and shelter.
The area, which features a recreation room, a Zen room, a shelter area, dorms, and a kitchen, was painted and adorned by a bunch of youth from Montreal.
These college students held a fundraiser earlier than touring to Yellowknife final 12 months.
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Dwelling Base YK’s director of packages and operations, Traci Mercer-Sproule, stated the renovations have been essential to make the area much less “institutional.”
“That is their residence, so we attempt to make it as homey as attainable and we attempt to go away no youth out,” she stated.
The shelter aspect of the constructing has separate rooms for male-identifying and female-identifying youth, a toilet and a eating room.
Youth are welcome to spend the night time on the centre, with the chance to bathe and eat breakfast the next morning.
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The dorm has a 10-person capability and presently homes 9 individuals, who’re welcome to brighten their room and make it their residence for nevertheless lengthy they spend at Dwelling Base.
Together with housing, Dwelling Base operates a youth middle in downtown Yellowknife from 12pm-8pm each day, in addition to an impartial residing program close to Metropolis Corridor.
“Principally, any youths have someplace to go 24/7, and that’s our purpose,” stated Mercer-Sproule.
“The entire concept is somebody would come into the shelter, we assess them and see what is going on on, after which we transfer them into the dorms, we educate them life classes, guardian them mainly.
“Then once we suppose they’re prepared, and after they suppose they’re prepared and comfy, we transfer them into our housing program.”
Brady Daniels, the group’s recreation coordinator, says he works with children on a day-to-day foundation to “preserve them busy.”
“It is a actually secure area that children can depend on,” stated Daniels. “I am one in every of their most constant relationships, they usually can ask me to do something and I will plan it. I am actually versatile that means.”
With an upcoming rap workshop, birthdays, and seaside days, one youth stated there’s by no means a scarcity of issues to do.
“I actually take pleasure in it, there’s quite a lot of good packages right here,” they stated.
“We normally have a canine right here that we take out for walks and hikes every single day, I actually take pleasure in these. And I actually do just like the area.”
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