In her bid to win the Dec. 13 byelection for Whitehorse Centre, New Democratic Party candidate Liz Hanson continues to call attention to social problems plaguing the downtown area.

On Tuesday, Hanson invited media to Teegatha-oh-zheh Park at the foot of Main Street, where she was joined byBonnie Harpe, the manager of the Klondora Apartments, which sits next door to the small park.

Harpe lived in the apartment block for eight years and said constant complaints about kids using the park as a summer drinking spot and crash pad have not changed anything.

"There's underage drinking, people screaming at all hours during the night,” she said.

When the RCMP are called, Harpe added, "the kids just run up the hill and hide until the police leave.”

Hanson said it's time the RCMP started doing more foot patrols, the city spent the money to properly light the park along the cliff-side walking trail, and that the territorial government took the issue of sheltering the city's hard-to-house more seriously.

"But the real issue is what are we going to do to address the underlying causes?” said Hanson. "And I don't think it's a money issue, it's a lack of planning issue.”

The NDP leader also called the problem a public safety issue, and said ignoring the root causes only increases the risks.

During the fall sitting of the legislative assembly, the government supported its own motion to build a permanent homeless shelter, but to date, there is no information on where it will be built and whether it would offer any ancillary services.

The New Democrats have supported the Youth of Today Society's goal of establishing a supported living shelter for homeless young adults.

The government, however, said it wants to explore other options in spite of the fact the society has purchased a home in the downtown area and equipped it with beds to house up to 20 youth.

"I'm sorry, but the idea of putting kids in the (Sarah Steele) detox centre is not the right approach,” said Hanson of the only option homeless youth have when they are desperate for a place to sleep.

The Yukon NDP is also calling for livable social assistance levels, and wants the territory's minimum hourly wage raised to $10.

Currently, the maximum social assistance available to a single person in the Yukon is slightly more than $1,400 a month, making the territory one of the most generous jurisdictions in Canada when it comes to providing financial help to the needy.

Challenging Hanson in the byelection are Liberal candidate Kirk Cameron and the Yukon Party's Mike Nixon. The byelection was made necessary by former NDP MLA Todd Hardy's death last July.