The just over year-old Salvation Army Centre of Hope is expected to be owned and operated by the Yukon government less than two months from now, officials announced Thursday afternoon – but some details remain.

Come Jan. 31 of 2019, YG will assume ownership of the site, with its Department of Health and Social Services (HSS) taking on responsibility for its oversight and service delivery of programs.

The downtown Whitehorse centre opened in October 2017. The project saw YG kick in $13.4 million and the Salvation Army cover $1.1 million.

HSS Minister Pauline Frost emphasized Thursday that it was a collaborative decision – not a takeover of sorts.

“I want to make that clear: this is not the Government of Yukon swooping in; this is a partnership we’ve had really great discussions on.”

That partnership saw YG provide $1.2 million per year to the Salvation Army for the site’s operation and maintenance.

Because dialogue is still ongoing about the transition phase (which as of today will last about six weeks), it remains unclear whether there will be any job losses.

“We want to ensure we provide the necessary supports and transition to the staff that is there right now,” Frost said.

“I wouldn’t say that at the immediate we are going to see a bunch of job losses,” she added when pressed: “We’re going to see a transition evolve.”

Accompanied by Maj. Al Hoeft, the area commander with the Salvation Army, the minister continued that both parties have agreed the centre was not meeting the expectations and needs as they evolved.

“The needs of Yukon’s vulnerable citizens are complex,” she said.

“The challenges faced in addressing these complex needs are often rooted in historical culturally created trauma.”

Those complex needs may be “more than what the Salvation Army staff are situated by,” Frost said.

The programs and services that were needed couldn’t be delivered “under the current program structure,” she added.

Hoeft suggested those priorities may have changed over the group’s four-decade-long service in Whitehorse.

“One of the things we’ve traditionally been challenged with is how do we provide services in an ever-changing shelter environment in Canada?” he said.

One of those includes a managed alcohol program, which may conflict with the army’s policy of abstinence.

“That’s one example of a program that’s not going to fit the Salvation Army context as we move forward,” Hoeft said.

It’s something the Yukon NDP agreed has not been working the best.

“The challenge is there’s a fair number of our population that is not sober,” MLA Kate White said Thursday afternoon, lauding the move as a “fantastic” one.

Until more details become known, she said, she can only be hopeful – but thanked the Sally Ann for being “very honest” in the fact it hasn’t been able to meet the needs.

White hopes there would be more efforts of “frontline workers meeting people where they are and helping there” as it now comes under the YG banner and services are redesigned through HSS.

“My hope is that future of that building is one that does become a beacon of hope.”

Speaking shortly after the announcement, Hoeft added that “certainly when you’re the government, you have a few more resources at your disposal to provide opportunities and resources.”

Meanwhile, Frost also hinted at the implications from opioid use that may have impacted the shelter (there have been 18 opioid-related deaths so far in the territory since 2016).

Meeting the needs of all clients in the city can “mean not being prescriptive, being more open,” she added.

The faith-based Salvation Army is rooted in Christian values – but Frost said the transition to a more secular government is not necessarily a rejection of those values.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a rejection of anything, I see it as an evolution – evolution of a relationship,” she said, adding the territory has historically seen systemic problems with Indigenous populations.

“These partners have expressed concerns to us and we hope we will now work collaboratively with all of our partners in the community to redesign the shelter services,” Frost added.

The details on that redesign that will see the site come under the YG banner also remain scarce at this point, Frost acknowledged.

The government does hope to make it into a “centre where individuals can come and feel welcome and deliver programs and services that all of our community can participate in.

“And not just be a centre for the vulnerable,” she said, adding that vision could evolve with partners but that is what the next six weeks or so is for.

Ideally, the minister explained, it would be not just a community shelter but a community centre – but she remained grateful to the Salvation Army for its 40 some years spent in the territory.

Hoeft nodded, adding insight into the question about its faith-based work.

“I don’t know that there’s a lot of over displays of religiosity in the current (site),” he said.

“We realize as a Christian organization, we bring our faith basis to the work that we do, but our staff do not have to prescribe to our values to be staff at our facility.”

Asked directly if those like executive director Ian McKenzie will stay on after the transition, he said details like that are still being worked out with YG.

“Every staff position right across the board is really in conversation at this point – so today we really can’t answer that question,” Hoeft said.

For its part, the Yukon Party said it hopes the transition is as smooth as possible for all involved.

“Obviously, there’s people involved here,” said Yukon Party MLA Patti McLeod on Thursday afternoon.

“I hope it means that the people employed there will continue to be employed there if that’s what they want.”

While McLoud, who serves as the party’s HSS critic, is grateful to see that the lack of services is being acknowledged, she said the dearth of details may leave some in “limbo.

“It’s a bit of a surprise; the minister seems so rushed out the door with an announcement.”

Part of those details include the overall direction and staffing model that HSS will use, as it leaves questions about whether it will be YG workers operating the site, McLoud added – along with the costs linked to the operation that YG will now cover.

Asked about that, Frost said the $1.2 million “will remain there so the program funding is in tact. We will continue to utilize the resources we have.”

McLoud added that she is “happy there is some thought being given to maintaining services to people; that’s a good thing.

“But a whole lot more information should have come out with this announcement.”

Meanwhile, speaking shortly after the announcement, Hoeft acknowledged shelters can see their fair share of challenges – but they are not unique to Whitehorse.

“One is when you offer programming (to those) who are not prescribed to attend, quite often they don’t want to attend.

“They find other things to do, that’s kind of where things are.”

The option to participate is left up to them, he said, but assured that it “has not been a requirement of being able to reside in the facility.”

Drawing on his about two decades of experience in running shelters and other work in areas like Winnipeg and Yellowknife, Hoeft explained restricting access is often the result of the individual’s behavior that may pose a threat to the safety of other residents.

He also assured that there would not be any blackout of services as the site now undergoes transition. Its hope, he said, is that at “no time will any Yukoner have to be out on the street because the doors are locked.”

As for the $1.2 million per year that YG provides to the group for the site’s operation and maintenance, it remains unclear how and if that may change.

“I would say at this time, we have an agreement in principle and we’re working out the final details of what that transition will look like,” Frost said when asked about how that may shift moving forward.

Asked if the details of that included money, the minister said, “That would be a consideration, yes.”

The agreement is subject to approval from the management board, a release notes.

The centre is currently home to 25 shelter beds, 20 transitional living suites (10 for women and 10 for men) and a soup kitchen, along with a drop-in space and multi-purpose areas.

With YG to assume ownership by Jan. 31, 2019, the site will be known as Support Services until a new name is chosen.

The release added the Army is expected to keep its offices and church on Black Street and will continue providing services to the Adult Resource Centre in Hillcrest.

Thursday’s announcement came against the backdrop of concerns raised most recently in the legislature during the fall sitting.

Frost confirmed that she had heard things similar to Yukon NDP Leader Liz Hanson’s claims that there appeared to be no day programming at the site.

That was one of the contractual obligations laid out in the agreement between HSS and the centre – which, as the Star previously reported, is a 31-month one that saw the Army receive $100,000 a month in funding (in line with that $1.2-million annual figure provided by YG yesterday).

Both McKenzie and HSS had added in October that there was a one-year review of operations to assess the centre and its progress.

Thursday’s announcement came just over two months after that statement.