A third-party evaluation has found that Housing First — located above the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter and at the corner of 5th Avenue and Wood Street — is well suited to provide affordable, low-barrier housing and help people maintain stable housing.
However, the program's reliance on tenancy legislation and “challenges in delivering consistent services” have hindered the program’s ability to meet the government’s goals, and differences in services offered at each location have prompted a need for more tailored and fair delivery.
The evaluation, dated Oct. 31, 2024, was made public in the legislature by Health and Social Services Tracy-Anne McPhee on April 14.
A memo from Matt King, deputy minister of Health and Social Services, and Mark Radke, deputy minister of Justice and attorney general, to McPhee notes all programs run by Connective Support Society, commonly known as Connective, were part of expansive reviews.
"We note here as well that these reviews align with a motion adopted unanimously by the Yukon Legislative Assembly on May 1, 2024, that the Government of Yukon conduct a review of all programs operated in the Yukon by Connective Support Society," they said.
MNP LLP was hired by the Yukon Health and Social Services Department to evaluate Housing First to see if the program is working as intended related to its goals, alignment with government direction and meeting tenants’ needs. Tenants, service providers and partners were interviewed as part of the process.
MNP LLP also reviewed the Supervised Housing and Reintegration Programs, or SHARP. McPhee also tabled that report, dated Feb. 28, 2025, in the legislative assembly.
The final report on Housing First notes that while legislation offers important protections for tenants, there’s a need to review the program model to better balance tenant rights with the provision of needed support and services.
“For example, guest management policies are tough to enforce with tenants as the rules of having up to two guests per tenant conflict with current legislation, leading to challenges in maintaining safe and controlled environments. Similarly, wellness checks were mentioned as being often resisted by tenants, who reportedly exercised their right to refuse entry to their units, further complicating efforts to provide harm reduction and overdose support,” reads the final report.
“Participants referred to this as a significant barrier to the program's ability to fully realize its intended outcomes of increasing tenant well-being and self-sufficiency.”
The Housing First Program offers tenancy to adults experiencing or at risk of homelessness and who may need support for mental health or substance use, as noted in the final report. Thirty-six low-barrier accommodations are offered at two locations: the intersection of Wood Street and 5th Avenue and 405 Alexander St., in the units above the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.
Connective operates Housing First with the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) providing cultural programming, according to the final report. The Yukon Housing Corporation acts as the landlord at 5th Avenue, while Connective acts as the landlord at 405 Alexander St.
“Housing First is based on a federal initiative which is a recovery-focused approach designed to reduce homelessness by providing access to permanent housing without conditions, such as being sober or participating in treatment programs,” reads the final report.
Staff shortages and insufficient funding prevent Housing First from offering a full suite of resources. That hinders the program’s ability to provide consistent, high-quality support at both sites. Better resourcing is needed to help better support tenants with home and clinical care, case management, outreach, transportation and cultural programming, per the report.
A lack of clearly defined roles and responsibilities was another point of frustration outlined in the report for program administrators, partners and non-government organization representatives, with requests made to redefine the duties of the Yukon Housing Corporation, the Department of Highways and Public Works, and Connective regarding maintenance needs.
A better state of collaboration between service providers, NGOs and Yukon government was called for, according to the final report.
The availability and consistency of harm reduction supplies, a meal program, an outreach worker and cultural programs varies between the two sites. Tenants commonly requested more help with job searching and readiness, cultural programming and general outreach services, per the final report. In general, the 5th Avenue location runs with limited resources.
“Safety concerns for tenants and service providers at the facilities included guest management, wellness checks, unit takeovers, assaults, theft, and poor camera coverage,” reads the final report.
“Suggestions were made by tenants for supports to reduce fatal substance related overdoses and improve harm reduction, such as having in-unit phones, increased training for direct service providers, peer-supports, and broader availability of naloxone.”
The current resource limitations make it difficult to assist several tenants with such highly complex care needs, as noted in the final report.
“Some tenants expressed distrust towards service providers, and shared stories in which service providers treated them without compassion or care in response to incidents. Coupled with issues related to tenant legislation, this has led to difficulties for service providers when trying to engage tenants in program support,” reads the final report.
The 5th Avenue facility is described in the final report as “institutional” like a hospital.
While most review participants agreed that Housing First has broadly provided stable housing and lowered the risk of homelessness for many people, the final report notes that “goals related to safety, mental health, well-being, and community belonging have not been fully met due to inconsistencies in available supports and services.”
Seven considerations are made that relate to refining the program’s outcomes and revisiting tenant legislation to specifically make the program better, improving safety and setting out roles and responsibilities.
The report suggests redesigning the 5th Avenue facility to effectively support mental well-being, stress reduction and cultural connection, and providing a “cultural room” on the third floor of 405 Alexander St.
As for the section on unexpected outcomes, some NGOs raised concerns around Connective’s lack of transparency as well as a perception that overdoses may be higher than officially reported.
“Some program administrators and partners were satisfied with how well the program has integrated into the Whitehorse community and the local neighbourhood, noting a general acceptance of the presence,” reads the final report.
“At the same time, some service providers noted that they are being unfairly blamed for deaths and overdoses. Along these same lines, it was expressed that the broader community may not fully understand the scope of their efforts and the challenges they face in supporting tenants with complex needs.”
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
