The Yukon government will not seek a forensic audit into Many Rivers Counselling Services, while ex-clients hold out hope for the centre’s resurgence.

“I believe we have taken all measures necessary,” Pauline Frost, the minister of Health and Social Services, said Thursday afternoon.

“We have backed away, and went to providing alternative measures.”

Many Rivers halted services last spring when it was revealed the organization had fallen into debt and was in non-compliance with territorial law.

A new volunteer board was installed shortly afterward and attempted to move Many Rivers back into compliance.

In August, the government announced the mental health funding previously allocated to Many Rivers would be moved into the Canadian Mental Health Association.

Upon realizing Many Rivers would no longer receive support from the government, the volunteer board quit en masse in the last week of August and announced the doors would be shuttered for good.

There have since been calls from NDP MLA Liz Hanson to pursue a forensic audit into Many Rivers’ finances. Hanson inquired on the location of the last cheque given to Many Rivers for $500,000 just a few months before the closure. She filed a motion to the legislature urging a forensic audit be conducted.

(The government used to pay Many Rivers about $2 million annually to provide its services.)

Frost said her department will not be pursuing an audit because an investigation by a third-party auditor and the RCMP found no evidence of criminal activity.

“RCMP said they would require more information related to criminal wrong-doing,” Frost told reporters.

“(We) can’t conduct a forensic audit without criminal wrong-doing. It was just poor management of resources.”

She said she believes her department has fulfilled its duty of due diligence in the matter.

“There’s not much more we can do for Many Rivers.”

The RCMP never discuss their investigations with the media.

NDP Leader Kate White, meanwhile, said her party is concerned there was not enough responsibility taken by the government for the massive amount of taxpayers’ money involved.

She noted the final cheque was issued in September. Staff had been on strike for 12 weeks beginning in November 2018.

“So, where did $500,000 go in that short amount of time?” White asked of reporters.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent agreed that he would like to see a forensic audit conducted when he spoke with media after question period Thursday.

“It’s my understanding they do have the ability to call for that,” Kent said.

“We would like to see something like (a forensic audit) as well so we can respond with some level of knowledge to the people in the community.”

In the legislature on Wednesday, Hanson accused the Liberal government of hanging the last board members “out to dry” on Many Rivers’ financial status.

“In a letter to the board from the deputy minister, he indicated that there was an outstanding debt of over a half-million dollars, and it would be up to the new board to somehow repay the amount,” Hanson said. “It’s no wonder that they resigned.”

Frost responded that her department is concerned about it; however, the obligation to provide mental health services to Yukoners has taken priority for her department.

“At this point, I am satisfied with where we are and we will ensure that we don’t run into this situation again,” Frost said.

Meanwhile, ex-clients and friends of Many Rivers are holding out hope for the organization’s resurgence.

“There is a way forward,” Patti Balsillie told the Star. “In acknowledging that it’s obvious the service of Many Rivers was valuable to the community. That’s indisputable.”

Balsillie is a management consultant who volunteered to facilitate the most recent Friends of Many Rivers meeting on Sept. 25

She said the meeting focused on the experiences of Many Rivers’ ex-clients who are championing a second life for the service that had existed in the Yukon for five decades.

“Many Rivers wasn’t just a free counselling place,” she said. “It was also a community, a safe space; it was accessible and there were relationships.”

Since the fallout of the board, members of the Friends of Many Rivers society have met multiple times in hopes of finding a way to bring the service back to the Yukon.

Balsillie said she is confident there are 200 Yukoners willing to “roll up their sleeves” and get to work for Many Rivers.

Though the government’s mental health funding has been equally allocated to other service providers, Balsillie argued the replaced counselling service doesn’t do Many Rivers justice because of its long-standing reputation.

“I think there was such a high level of awareness about the service Many Rivers provided,” she said. “It was free, accessible, it was open-door … whatever the new solution is now has not achieved that.

“I think the community is probably grieving what they had.”

Pat Living is the director of communications for Health and Social Services. In an emailed statement to the Star in late September, she disagreed with claims that there is a gap in services

“Mental Wellness and Substance Use Services continues to provide counselling services and in fact, expanded its services last year,” Living wrote.

“Those expanded services remain in place.”

Living noted the new funding allotted to the Canadian Mental Health Association and the All Genders Yukon Society is working to provide the services previously given by Many Rivers as well as in the communities.

“The mental wellness hubs in rural Yukon communities are providing services to rural Yukoners in all communities, not just those that were served by Many Rivers before the strike,” Living said.

Yukoners are currently able to make free counselling appointments with the mental health association, similar to Many Rivers, and there has been some overlap in staffing between the two organizations.

Balsillie maintains, however, that the reputation of Many Rivers is what made the organization strong.

“Relationships are paramount,” she said. “You can’t just change who gets the cheque and continue to fill that void.”

Two ex-clients of Many Rivers reached out to the Star following the Sept. 25 meeting to explain the impact of the organization and express hope for its resurgence.

Kelly Nowoczin, a chef, said the intensity of his career was impacting his mental health. Counselling at Many Rivers drastically improved his well-being, he said.

Nowoczin said his counsellor at Many Rivers suggested art therapy as a means of stress relief. He began to draw plates of food. Over the course of his counselling, he drew 46 of them.

“That helped me out quite a bit,” he said.

“I walked out of counselling with a new, happy smile on my face. (My counsellor) took care of me and made me feel like a person.”

Nowoczin noted that Whitehorse has a huge need for more mental health services.

“I see a lot of people out there who don’t know who to go to,” he said. “There’s a lot of people who need help in this town.”

Nowoczin said he wants to step up to the plate in the fight for Many Rivers, now that the previous board has resigned.

“I’m trying to get Many Rivers up-to-date again,” he said. “We need to have an open mind about this, and someone needs to speak about this.”

Another ex-client, who requested anonymity, said Many Rivers helped manage life-long struggles with time management and mood swings.

“I could get kind of volcanic,” the person told the Star.

After becoming a parent, the ex-client was worried their mental health would affect their ability to be a steady influence to their children. They embarked on a journey of self discovery which led them to Many Rivers.

“My experience with them as soon as I walked through the door was incredible,” the ex-client said. “It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for me and my family.”

The ex-client added the Many Rivers’ closure “broke my heart.”

A week before the Sept. 25 Many Rivers meeting, the ex-client lost a friend to suicide.

“So I said, ‘Nope, I want to be as present as I can,’ for something I think is a necessity for Yukoners,” the ex-client said.

“The focus is on the people of the organization. It’s about the people, not about the money.”

The ex-client expressed hope that an agreement could be forged between Many Rivers and the Yukon government.

“Like-minded people need to come to the table and solve the problem of people,” they said. “I’m not laying blame here, but I think it’s kind of the pot calling the kettle black. I think it was neglected.”

Frank Turner, who was one of the Many Rivers board members to resign in August, has called for a forensic audit into the organization’s financials. He expressed hope that the government will take responsibility for the closure.

“I’m not pinning all this on (the government),” Turner said. “I think there were some things we could have done better.”

Still, Turner is not giving up hope.

“There’s a part of me that thinks, if there’s still an opportunity, maybe there could be a more open and beneficial dialogue because this is all about people and all about this community.”