New doors swing open to kids in care

It’s like many newly-built homes in the Yukon – large, with new siding, and built to energy-efficient standards.

It’s like many newly-built homes in the Yukon – large, with new siding, and built to energy-efficient standards.

And while there’s no landscaping around the site, there’s a plan to have it done in the coming weeks.

Inside, it’s like a waiting room, but that has little to do with the sprinklers, fire extinguishers enclosed in cases, alarms and other features required in a government building.

For boys aged 10 to 18 taken into government care due to issues of neglect or abuse in their home, it is very much a waiting room – a temporary home until they can move back in with their immediate family, another family member or with a foster family.

The building is the new children’s receiving home on Fifth Avenue. Up to six boys could move in there over the next week to 10 days, though only three are currently scheduled.

On Wednesday, the ribbon was cut to open the new facility. On hand were representatives of the Yukon Housing Corp., the Department of Health and Social Services and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

“Yukon is proud to collaborate with the Government of Canada to provide housing for youth in need,” said Jim Kenyon, the minister responsible for Yukon Housing. He also represented Health and Social Services Minister Glenn Hart at the ribbon-cutting.

“This new facility will provide a temporary home for young Yukoners who need a safe place to live.”

The $1.1-million facility was funded from the North’s portion of the federal government’s stimulus package announced last year. It represents one of the first projects to be completed under the funding made available last year.

Government and CMHC officials commented on the benefits that come with the physical construction of the 4,200-square-foot facility. They include job creation and a new SuperGreen energy-efficient building.

Officials also stressed the work that went into designing a building which meets the needs of the children in care who require urgent housing.

The facility was built by Ketza Construction on the same site of the former 35-year-old receiving home. A rented site on Jeckell Street is serving as the interim location until the new structure opens.

Nancy Duesener, the manager of children’s assessment and treatment services, said the home has a much more open concept and is designed to ensure the children and staff feel and are safe.

There are no blind corners, for example, as there were with the other building. It’s built in a way that it’s easy and quick for staff to get around and deal with children who may be having problems and need assistance, with everything on one level.

“The environment is more friendly, open, safer,” Duesener said.

During the more formal presentations, officials acknowledged the former building had numerous, highly publicized, problems. The former three-storey structure’s mold problems, for example, were well-known. The energy efficiency standards mean less chance of mold in its replacement.

While the former building offered space for 10 to 15 youth, Duesner is confident that the new building, with space for only six boys, will be enough.

As she pointed out, the former building served both boys and girls prior to the separating of the two genders into two receiving homes.

With the separation, the six beds are expected to accommodate all those needing the temporary home.

Duesner explained the department opted to separate the two sexes in an effort to create a calmer environment. By doing so, she went on, it also allows for better programming, taking into consideration the sex of the child.

In the cases of brothers and sisters taken into care and now having to stay at separate group homes, Duesner said staff try to ensure there are a lot of visits between the siblings. As well, there are also frequent family visits while the children are staying at the receiving home, she said.

A child will normally stay there for about 90 days while assessment and plans for placement are made.

However, Duesner acknowledged there are some cases where children have been at the receiving home for much longer due to individual circumstances, such as the child being at an age where they are close to transitioning into adulthood.

Before the full move is made to the building, furniture will soon be arriving to be added to the common areas and bedrooms.

While there are no plans to build a new facility for girls staying at the other receiving home, Duesner noted $125,000 has gone into renovating the facility.

“Canada’s Economic Action Plan is giving a hand-up to Canadians in need by allowing for more housing like this to be built — here in Whitehorse and across the country,” Yukon Senator Dan Lang said in a statement.

“The Government of Canada is proud to have invested in this project. For the young people who will live here, these new units are more than just a roof over their heads — they are the key to a brighter future.”