The ongoing concern over the community's lack of a permanent youth shelter was once again brought to the forefront in the territorial legislature this week.

"A lost cat wanders the street and the neighbourhood is alerted; a homeless 16-year-old wanders the street and people really hope they find the cat,” Takhini-Kopper King MLA Kate White told the legislature.

"It's an invisible population, people like to think doesn't exist,” White told the Star this morning.

Currently, the only full-time shelter facility available to youth is at the Sarah Steele building, the community's detoxification centre.

Youth can admit themselves to the centre and can arrange a ride from the youth emergency outreach service at the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre.

Sarah Steele has five beds, but as a full-time detox facility, it is a less than ideal space for children.

"It's great that we have the Sarah Steele building, but it is a big, institutional setting, and it's a pretty scary place if you are a kid,” said White.

The government also acknowledges that more needs to be made available.

"I think it almost goes without saying that we are very aware that there is a problem,” said Health and Social Services Minister Doug Graham.

"We realize the current shelter is not the best environment for kids.”

Planning such a space is a priority for the government, Graham said.

Although they are "exploring all options,” there aren't any concrete plans for where a new facility would be located or what it may look like.

"Mostly, the issue is about funding,” said Graham. "Constructing a new building would cost a lot of money and then there are staffing issues to consider. But it's something I have been thinking about for a long time ... we are really trying to make sure that the government and service organizations involved in this come together, because if they can't it's not going to be good for the kids,” he said.

Both the government and opposition believe the best ideas are likely to come from the community's social service organizations — those working on the front lines.

"We need to talk to people who work with kids to find out what is best,” said White. "We know a little but they know a lot, they are in touch with the youth, and we need to involve them in the process.”

The Department of Health and Social Services has been in contact with several organizations in the community, and they are planning a meeting for the next week, said Graham.

"I believe that there is the political will and the determination for this to succeed and I think we will have something planned by September, 2012,” said White.

For Vicki Durrant, the executive director of the Youth of Today Society, it's been a long time coming.

She's been trying to establish a full-time youth shelter in the community since 2003.

Durrant was one of the founders of the Blue Feather Society's former 24-hour youth shelter. The facility was located in the former Roadhouse Hotel, which was demolished last summer.

The shelter housed 18 at-risk youth during its nine months in operation.

"We did it for nine months in the hopes that the government would see that there is a need and that the need can be addressed without throwing billions of dollars at it,” she said.

After a several years of trying to acquire funding from both the federal and territorial governments, the project fell through and the society was forced to evict the residents.

One of those residents was Angel Carlick, the 19-year-old whose body was found in a forested area north of the Pilot Mountain subdivision.

Durrant is now helping to run the Angel's Nest, named for Carlick, which has been in operation for three years.

The facility is a support and service centre for youth but is also licensed as a boarding house so it can provide emergency housing for three or four youth, if necessary.

Currently, it has two occupants.

Right now, many homeless youth are living in hotels like the Chilkoot Trail Inn and the Family Hotel, she said.

"That's where we are housing people. It's really expensive to keep people there, sometimes as much as $1,200 per month or something, and we are all paying the bills for it, the money is coming from housing and social services.”

It is, Durrant said, less than ideal to have a 17-year-old sharing a hallway with adults seized by their own addictions.

She believes that in addition to immediate social housing for youth, the community also needs a youth treatment centre.

"Go to the street, talk to the addicts. They'll tell you the same thing. It may be too late for them, but they are thinking of the youth, the next generation,” she said. "Because if we don't address this, we will have a whole new generation on our streets in the next 10 years.”

Change is something that is needed immediately, she said, adding that all of the territory's governments, from the First Nations, to the municipalities to the federal government should be involved.

"I would say there probably isn't one MLA with a homeless child,” said Durrant. "If it were their kids they would do something, and that is why we have to start thinking of these kids as our kids, because really they are, we are all affected by this.”