Whitehorse Centre of Hope to become government facility

The new Salvation Army facility in Whitehorse will soon be owned and operated by the Government of Yukon.

The territorial government will assume control of the Centre of Hope on Jan.31, when itwill be renamed Support Services until a new oneis agreed upon.

The exchange comes only a year after the facility opened. The Yukon government contributed $13.4 million to the projectand the Salvation Army contributed $1.1 million.

While the non-profit organization has been providing vulnerable residents in Yukon with shelter services and mealsfor roughly 40 years, there have been concerns about the quality and range of programs currently being delivered, said Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost.

"Let's just say we had some feedback from the community," she said.

In a press conference Thursday, Frost said both parties agreed "the relationship needed to evolve into something different."

"We had expectations around service delivery that [were]outside their scope of care and their scope of practice," Frost said, adding the Yukon government had "perhaps [set] our expectations too high and I take responsibility for that as a minister."

Frost said the territorial government will aim to offera rangeof services to those dealing with addictions issues.

She addedthe $1.2 million operation and maintenance budget will remain unchanged.

Frost maintains this is not a government takeover of the facility, buta mutual partnership. She said the final details of the transfer are still being worked out and may be subject to change, including who works at the facility and whether the large Salvation Army logo will be removed.

Jobs are 'in conversation'

The Salvation Army will keep its office at Church and Black Street. It will also continue to provide services at the Adult Resource Centre in Whitehorsebut the positions at Centre for Hope may be in for a change.

Al Hoeft, area commander with the Salvation Army,said the conversation with the government about logistics and employment is ongoing, but that "every staff position right across the board is really in conversation at this point."

Hoeft said the Salvation Army team will continue its mission to help Yukon's most vulnerable citizens.

"That is our promise,that is our goal," he said."Our mission is to be a transforming influence in the community.We will continue to do that."

Both parties have pledged that the shelter will remain open during the transition.