City council has been asked to let the city serve as the administrator for a federal program to combat homelessness.

Marilyn Wolovik of the Whitehorse Planning Group on Homelessness pitched the request at Monday night's council meeting, along with Jennifer Campagnola of Service Canada.

Having a local "community entity” look after the books and administer the annual contribution of $304,227 is much more effective than running every funding request through Ottawa, council heard.

Wolovik assured council the community advisory board which recommends how the money should be spent will remain in place as the principal body to guide the program.

The board, she said, includes representation from the city at large and all four levels of government, including the city.

Campagnola said community entities can use up to $46,000 of the annual funding to cover the cost of a half-time administrative position.

Of the 61 designated communities providing the federal homelessness program, 36 are currently administered by municipalities. Twenty-five are administered through the same shared delivery model as Whitehorse, she said.

Campagnola said having a "community entity” to provide administrative services is so much more efficient than having to go through Ottawa, where each request has to be reviewed by the federal minister's office.

The advisory board, said Wolovik, believes city hall is the right place to administer the Homeless Partnering Strategy.

"We have made presentations to other groups but because the city already has the infrastructure and knows about accountability, we felt this was a way the city could help contribute to solve a problem that affects the city,” she said.

"We all thought, frankly, the city is the right place to host the fund.”

City manager Dennis Shewfelt said there's really not a staff position in the city right now that is geared toward taking on that type of administrative role.

There's the possibility of the city linking up with a local organization – one with a greater profile in the delivery of social services – to jointly form the community entity, he said.

Information provided to council indicates the federal homelessness program has been operating here under a shared delivery model since 2000.

But Ottawa has directed that the administration of the program be turned over to a community entity, for reasons of greater efficiency and local knowledge of the issues.

Since its inception, it has provided support to a variety of issues revolving around homelessness.

Funding purchased the first Outreach Van, and annual support has been provided to the Salvation Army shelter and the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Yukon to assist clients with housing issues.

Money is being provided this year to Blood Ties Four Directions to help the non-profit organization develop policies around its Tiny House project, with the first mini-home scheduled for construction this year.

Campagnola explained federal funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy works in a three-year cycle, with this fiscal year being the second in the current cycle.

She and the advisory board hope the city will indicate sometime this spring whether it's interested in serving as the administrator, she said.

Campagnola said there is a process of negotiations that needs to take place between the community entity and the federal government to formalize the arrangement.

Knowing the city's position this spring will provide the necessary time to get an agreement in place for the beginning of the next three-year cycle next April, she said.

"We put a lot of effort into negotiations to make sure it's a good relationship.”

Coun. Betty Irwin expressed some concern that this may be an effort by the federal government to offload some of its social responsibilities to the municipal level.

And to date, despite years of funding, she said, there is still no place for the homeless to live.

And at $304,000 a year, building something would be difficult, Irwin suggested.

Campagnola pointed out the advisory committee can recommend pooling the money for an entire three-year cycle, if indeed it felt the need for a larger capital program, she explained.

With $900,000 at the end of three years, Irwin suggested, there may be the ability to build a home.

"Those of us with a roof over our heads can hardly imagine the desperate feeling of people living on the margin,” Wolovik told council.

All one has to do is look at last summer's tent city outside the legislature, the number of people who sleep in chairs at the Sally Ann because there aren't enough beds, she said.

Wolovik said couch surfing is never-ending, and some people can find themselves making tough compromises in exchange for a place to sleep.

"This city can help make Whitehorse a place where there is a home for everyone.”

Campagnola explained in an interview today many of the community entity arrangements have been in place in Alberta for as many as five years.

Yellowknife and Iqaluit have both become community entities in the last couple of years, she said.

Campagnola said in smaller centres like Whitehorse, it's particularly helpful for the municipal government to take on the administrative role because it has the office space and staff.

In larger centres, non-profit organizations like the Salvation Army are big enough to take on the job.

In smaller municipalities, however, those types of social service organizations are usually down to skin and bones already, she said.

Ottawa, said Campagnola, has set next April 1 as the deadline to have all the Homelessness Partnering Strategy agreements administered by a community entity.

She said she's not sure what will happen if one can't be found in Whitehorse.