Photo by Vince Fedoroff
GOVERNMENT PUTS COUNCIL’S EXISTENCE IN JEOPARDY – Charlene Donald, the executive director of the Yukon Council On DisABILITY, calls the territorial government’s refusal to continue funding her group ‘disheartening.’
YTG’s funding cancellation threatens council’s future
For close to two decades, the Yukon Council On DisABILITY has helped those with disabilities move into the workforce.
For close to two decades, the Yukon Council On DisABILITY has helped those with disabilities move into the workforce.
The organization, which started up in 1998, now finds itself scrambling to find funding from other sources.
It’s been forced into that position after learning the Yukon government – through the advanced education branch – will no longer provide core operational cash after its current agreement ends March 31.
The group learned last week the territory has rejected its proposal – a similar agreement to the current one worth $746,000 over three years.
“We are without funding. It’s pretty disheartening,” executive director Charlene Donald said in an interview this morning.
The council was informed its request was being turned down due to numbers. Essentially, there aren’t the number of clients entering the workforce that the government wants to see.
The government offered no guidance on how council staff could make changes to their proposal to help secure the $746,000.
The money pays for operational costs ranging from rent to utility expenses to staffing and more that keeps everything going, Donald said.
“It’s a numbers game,” Donald said.
Each client the council deals with is an individual, she added, and it can take varying amounts of time to help them transition into the workforce.
Right now the council has 116 “active” clients working with case managers.
As Donald noted, it takes time to first build trust with a new client.
Case managers may also need to work on life skills with their client and ensure there’s a support system in place before they’re ready to enter the work force or, perhaps, go back to school for training.
The “end goal,” Donald said, is ensuring clients are job-ready.
“It takes a long, long time,” she said, noting that a number of clients drop in to the office daily for a coffee, chat and to access computers to look for work.
“We feel horrible for the clients we have,” she said.
If funding can’t be secured, the potential shutdown of the council’s services will be “very, very disappointing” for clients, she said.
While the lack of funding could mean having to close its doors entirely, Donald is hopeful a funding application she’s making to Service Canada will be approved before March 31 as she looks for other alternative funding sources as well.
The organization is also considering laying off staff in light of the situation, which could leave three former clients who now work for the council looking for new employment.
“They do an amazing job,” she said, noting efforts are being made to help those staffers find positions elsewhere.
Government officials could not be reached for comment on the cancellation of the council’s funding.
The government now routinely tables annual budgets exceeding $1 billion per year.
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Comments (7)
Up 17 Down 5
North of 60 on Feb 21, 2015 at 12:07 pm
You're totally out of touch with what is real inside of the Yukon Government. You have the YTG over staffed at the senior management level that is the fat cats and waste of tax payers money. These senior management supply no value for in the public funds. These agencies get nothing for what they do. As a disabilities person I know how the Yukon Government senior management treat people and it is very bad.
Up 16 Down 9
Get your facts straight on Feb 19, 2015 at 10:37 pm
Dearest North of 60 ... the NGOs that I'm familiar with in the social services field are not rolling in money. Most are non-unionized, most pay is an hourly rate upwards of $10 an hour less than a similar position in Government. Most have no pensions and little if no benefits. They do not have the ability to carry upwards of 1900 hours of sick time (as you can in YG) ... in fact the sick time clock for many is reset to zero each year (no carry over). They operate with inferior equipment because they don't have bloated capital budgets to have fancy desks and computers. Often office furniture is bought second hand or gotten from Government surplus. They get scrutinized up the ying yang and have to show where every cent went - unlike similar government programs. Government asks them to be accountable but the same expectations and standards are not applied to many government social service programs. Ask an NGO to deliver a service they will do and do it well - and spend only $1 to every $10 that it would cost if Social Services did it.
So North of 60 ... before you rant about the fat cats wasting money in the NGO sector please go check your facts. Take the time to walk into places like Blood Ties, FASSY, YACL, LDAY, SOS and get to know what they and how well they do it for such little money.
Up 15 Down 4
north_of_60 on Feb 19, 2015 at 3:24 pm
If they want more taxpayer funding, it's up to them to justify it.
"You have to show a certain number of people were employed once they go through the program... we're not able to get those numbers."
Up 19 Down 9
north_of_60 on Feb 19, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Government funded organizations should have their books open to the public. Taxpayers who foot the bill deserve to know how much of the funding actually benefits the disabled/disadvantaged, and how much goes to 'overhead'.
There are far too many NGOs in the Yukon with staff getting outrageous salaries and benefits, while delivering very little to the people they're supposed to be serving.
Supposedly serving the poor and disadvantaged is big business in the Yukon. It's a lush 'gravy train' with lots of fat riders.
Up 21 Down 8
June Jackson on Feb 18, 2015 at 9:28 pm
These days disability has such a wide descriptive range that I could say everyone is disabled. I think this organization duplicates other service providers..or its services could be covered by existing organizations..back to work programs..workers comp programs..people with disabilities that are self induced, such as extreme obesity have other avenues of assistance..
I do have a concern about "life" skills and "building trust" that Ms. Donald talks about..do these people want to work or not? How does building life skills a disability? They do serve a good lunch at their many meetings and conferences?
Up 13 Down 22
NGO's on Feb 18, 2015 at 7:16 pm
The Yukon Council on Disabilities is not the only NGO that this has happened to and it likely will not be the last either. Welcome to the Yukon under a Yukon Party government.
How do you think they are funding their sleazy deals with Outside the Cube, the golf course etc.? It is literally the rich get richer and the poor are out of luck. They aren't pulling this cash out of the air, it is coming from cutbacks to other programs not so cosy with the Yukon Party.
They don't care what the people of the Yukon think as they don't represent you just the Yukon Party faithful which are not the poor or disadvantaged of the Yukon.
Time for an audit and investigation folks and the news sources just need to dig a little deeper for the real story.
Up 29 Down 8
mary laker on Feb 18, 2015 at 5:58 pm
So, ah, bottom line. How many clients a year are entering the workforce in return for the quarter million a year in funding?
Drinking coffee and building trust just doesn't cut it. Your mandate is to get disabled people into the workforce. If you are not meeting your mandate, I do not blame the Yukon Government one bit for canceling your funding. In fact, thank you to the current government holding the purse strings.