Some concrete plans have now emerged to address downtown Whitehorse public safety after Premier Ranj Pillai got together with local government agencies, non-profits and police on Oct. 12 to try to come up with some solutions.

Initiatives coming out of the talks include solidifying plans for outreach workers similar to Winnipeg’s “bear patrol” to work with people experiencing homelessness throughout downtown Whitehorse.

The meetings followed last month’s announcement by the owners of Alpine Bakery that they would close down Oct. 7 – at this point temporarily – due to neighbourhood public safety concerns.

The premier then declared in the legislature on Oct. 5 that “this is on me,” saying he would be taking on the file personally.

The government has funded this program now through March 31 as a pilot project to be run by the Council of Yukon First Nations, according to CYFN executive director Shadelle Chambers.

Chambers said she expected the program to be rolling within three weeks.

The outreach workers will not be acting as a security patrol, but will be out working across downtown Whitehorse to actually help those in the most need.

“It’s a very community grassroots initiative,” Chambers said told the Star today. “It’s mostly focused on ensuring our most vulnerable are safe.”

This approach seeks to work on the actual issues, rather than just the symptoms.

Chambers says these initiatives are a start but that deeper societal issues need to be dealt with for real change.

“We are dealing with a housing crisis where, unfortunately, we don’t have the appropriate housing supports along the continuum for people to move beyond an emergency shelter,” Chambers said.

Many of the complaints about problems outside the shelter have focused on the need to move services to other places and to change the approach of the shelter, which is currently a low-barrier facility and won’t turn away people for being under the influence.

But what Chambers said is lacking is the next level of services for people, including social housing, supportive housing and sobering centres – which is something also called for in the Yukon government’s substance use emergency plans.

The Safe at Home Society’s Kate Mechan echoed this, saying that moving people out of an area like the shelter is only shifting them from one place to another and not addressing any underlying problems.

When the benches were removed from the front of the shelter recently, Mechan points out, those people didn’t disappear.

“Those individuals that were quote, unquote, ‘congregating out front the shelter,’ do we think they simply disappeared off the face of the Earth?” she asked. “Because there’s no longer benches?”

Safe at Home operates a supportive housing facility at the former Coast High Country Inn. Their services are meant to be more long-term than those at the shelter, and Mechan said they have seen a surge in drop-ins since the removal of the benches.

Mechan is concerned that organizations such as hers have not been looped in on recent meetings about the shelter, which may result in the duplication of services and a loss of focus on the main issue – housing.

“There’s no doubt that alleviating pressures on the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter is a logical approach,” she said.

“I think what I am extremely concerned about is the lack of conversations about where permanent housing plays a role in this.”

The meetings brought Pillai and other government representatives together with the CYFN, shelter operator Connective, the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the RCMP.

Plans that came out of the meetings include moving services for people experiencing homelessness away 
from the shelter to avoid people congregating in the area, as well as increased patrols by RCMP and potentially by private security.

“We are pleased that the participants came to the meeting with good ideas and productive solutions that they can contribute to improve safety and enjoyment for everyone in downtown Whitehorse,” Pillai said in a written statement released Friday afternoon.

Decentralization of services was a big part of many of the new plans that came out of the meetings.

This means providing outreach services and meals at other locations besides just the shelter.

Outreach services are to be now made available at the Whitehorse Public Library.

This is another area where Mechan said she would like to have been consulted, as her organization already provides outreach services at the library, and those services could end up being duplicated.

Trying to decentralize meal services is also in the works, but the government is still seeking more help to find places to host meals for people.

The CYFN will probably lead the decentralization of food services, particularly those with families and children, Chambers said.

The nearby Blood Ties Four Directions supervised consumption site is to also get expanded hours, giving people a place to go to consume substances that is controlled and hygienic.

Currently, Blood Ties is only open from 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday.

More meetings are planned, and these conversations will continue.

“While the actions discussed above address our commitment to immediately addressing safety concerns in downtown Whitehorse, medium- and long-term plans are underway,” Pillai said in the statement. “I look forward to continued discussions at our next meeting.”

Chambers wants to make sure people realize that it is not just a problem with the shelter, and the work continues.

“There’s not a quick solution to generations and decades of complex social issues,” Chambers said.