New Live-in and Outreach Program Nts'äw Chua Opens in Porter Creek

Friday, 6 December 2019 15:22

The home is on 22 Wann Road. Nts’äw Chua is Southern Tutchone for "wild rhubarb little creek" which is the traditional name for the Porter Creek neighbourhood

A new live-in and outreach program has opened on Wann Road in the Porter Creek neighbourhood of Whitehorse.

A new live-in and outreach program has opened on Wann Road in the Porter Creek neighbourhood of Whitehorse. The housing facility, named Nts’äw Chua, named for the Southern Tutchone word for the Porter Creek neighbourhood, will provide an alternative to traditional group care for youth in Whitehorse. Specifically, the project will support young people as they transition out of group home living, into the independence of adulthood.

Minister of Health and Social Services Pauline Frost was at the grand opening and explained how the facility differed from traditional group homes. Frost says the housing will focus on skills that young people need to live independently, including cooking, money management, and job searching. The program is based on four guiding principals:

Family and Community Connection
Supportive and Semi-Independent Living
Skill Building
Youth Empowerment

Frost was clear that Nts’äw Chua is not a group home, but much more. She said the facility would allow youth to follow their dreams and achieve goals through support from onsite staff, available 24/7. Another aspect that makes this project very different is the application process. Youth wishing to live at the housing unit will need to actually apply and thus it is the youth’s choice if they actually wish to live there.

Senior Policy and Project Strategist for Youth and Child Services, Simone Fournel, offered a tour of the home, which is expecting to house up to 8 young people. The housing promotes independent living for older tenants, and features bachelor suites, with kitchenettes, and an expectation for younger tenants to help prepare meals in the communal kitchen. The housing also features spare rooms for extended families to visit tenants, and an entire soccer field in the backyard. Applications have started to come in, with more expected in the coming weeks.

According to a news release there will be a variety of drop-in services available to youth whether or not they are living at Nts’äw Chua. These include laundry, showers, emergency supplies, internet and computers, educational support, and a variety of workshops and programming. Further information can be found on the Government of Yukon’s website (https://yukon.ca/en/news/new-live-and-outreach-program-support-youth-nts-aw-chua).

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