'Dignity is lost': Yellowknife shelters struggle with overcrowding, violence
CBC
Yellowknife shelter operators say they are in "crisis" after struggling for months to meet the needs of a growing population of unhoused people.
At the Yellowknife Salvation Army men's shelter, people have been sleeping in the narrow hallways for months, executive director Tony Brushett said.
The shelter is set up with space for a maximum of 31 people, he explained, but over the past several months the shelter has been taking in an average of over 50 people each night.
The shelter recently capped the number at 45 people each night because of concerns about fire safety, but it's still extremely crowded.
"Dignity is lost," Brushett said of the overcrowded conditions.
Brushett said that the number of people accessing the shelter really began to go up when people returned to the city after last summer's wildfire evacuation.
"It seemed like there were new individuals that came up from down south," he said.
Brushett also said that many people who used the shelter before the evacuation are now using it more.
The women's emergency shelter in Yellowknife has seen the same trend, according to Yellowknife Women's Society director Renee Sanderson.
That shelter is meant to accommodate up to 10 people, she said. But since last year's evacuation it's been sheltering more, clearing room in the small kitchen for people to sleep. In the winter, some people were forced to sleep in chairs.
Both Brushett and Sanderson say the crowded conditions have led to more violence at the shelters.
"A lot of the folks who've been staying here, some for as much as eight, nine years, they're now feeling like they're afraid," Brushett said. "They still have no choice but to come here, but they'll hide away in a corner."
Support that used to be provided by shelter staff, including connecting people to addictions services or other housing supports, has essentially stopped, Brushett said, as staff dedicate all their efforts to keeping the peace.
He also said that overcrowding makes it harder for staff to do health checks on shelter users who are at risk of overdose.
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This First Person column is the experience of Andrew Stetson, a writer and storyteller in P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.
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