It could be a cold winter for locals who use the services of the Whitehorse Boys and Girls Club. All of the club's operations will cease as of next Monday.

The doors of the downtown drop-in centre will be closed, and many other serviceswill end. Those include hot meals provided by the outreach van, the voice of a youth worker on the Youth Justice Panel, their employment program for disadvantaged youth and the operations of the Chillax'n Lounge at the Canada Games Centre.

"It's 100 per cent a funding issue,” Dave Blottner, the club's executive director, told the Star this morning.

It costs $231,000 to keep the club's services going each year, with core funding coming from the territory at $110,000 and the city at $30,000. The rest comes out of other grants and fund-raising efforts.

Over the last few years, there have been been fewer grants available, with more competition for the dollars, Blottner said.

In an effort to make up for the shortfall earlier this year, the club brought up the Vancouver Circus School for a performance. The funds from that enabled the club to continue operating into December, Blottner said.

The Yukon government, as well, advanced some of its funding in the last few months, said Gord Kurzynski who manages the youth directorate.

While the organization has called on both the municipal and territorial levels of government for more core funding, Blottner has yet to receive word one way or the other on those requests.

"A decision hasn't been made,” Kurzynski said of the territory, noting it has to go through a process for approval and he's unsure how long that could take.

One option, he continued, would be to double the funding that's been in place since 2004, bringing the territory's contribution up to $220,000. But again, no decision has been made.

"Nothing's come through,” Blottner said of the club's efforts to increase its cash flow to operate.

"There'll be quite a few kids affected,” he said, noting there are about 20 who come by the drop-in centre the three nights a week it's open. That program will completely close.

Another 30 to 50 youth come by the Chillax'in Lounge for programming there that's offered three nights a week through a partnership between the club, city and Kwanlin Dun First Nation.

"It's sad to see them go,” said Art Manhire, the Games Centre manager.

While it's expected the Chillax'in Lounge will live on, Manhire said just how that will happen is still being worked out.

"The service level isn't going to change,” he said, though he noted youth will likely notice a change in leadership.

Asked if the Games Centre would look at hiring staff from the Boys and Girls Club to continue with the programming there, Manhire said that's something that may be considered over the next few days as the city and Kwanlin Dun look at how the program will operate without the club.

"That's where the gap is,” he said of the staffing.

The partnership among the three organizations, which all have a mandate of providing youth programming, has been excellent, Manhire said.

Another organization losing services from the club is the outreach van, which benefited from hot meals the club made to be providing to those seeking services from the van.

Patricia Bacon, executive director of the Blood Ties Four Directions Centre (one of the partners in operating the van), said today she's hopeful another community group or volunteer will take up where the club is leaving off in bringing hot meals to those in need.

The club, she said, provided many other services to Whitehorse.

"I think it's a tremendous loss for the community,” Bacon said.

Now down to a staff of three, Blottner is also feeling the disappointment others in the community have expressed with the closure.

Over the past few months, he said, the club has been putting a lot of effort into both saving money where it can and raising funds to keep its doors open.

For the three staff, down from a previous complement of six, that's meant putting in some volunteer hours while restricting the hours the downtown drop-in centre is open.

"The staff have been amazing,” Blottner said, praising his co-workers.

While the club's services will officially end next Monday, Blottner said, he'd be pleased if funding requests came through prior to the club's board officially dissolving the organization in the new year and the club was able to reopen its doors.