The Safe at Home Society wants to make the High Country Inn permanent housing.

Friday, 27 August 2021 14:56

By Dylan MacNeil

The High Country Inn as seen from Google Maps.

They say it would attend to the needs of young adults, Indigenous people, and women.

The Safe at Home Society is looking to convert the High Country Inn in Whitehorse to 55 units of permeant housing.

They are working on an application to the city to fund the project through the federal Rapid Housing Initiative.

According to a news release, “The project will attend to the support and safety needs of specific at-risk groups with a separate section for young adults, allocation of 75% of all suites for people who are Indigenous and a minimum of 50% of all units for women.”

“Homelessness has far reaching consequences that impact everyone in this community and COVID-19 has served as yet another reminder of the impact inequities have on those who still do not have their most basic needs met. 4051- 4th Ave will help resolve these urgent gaps in the housing and support continuum from a housing-first, harm-reduction, and trauma-informed model of care,” says Executive Director of the Safe at Home Society Kate Mechan.

The announcement comes days after the Safe at Home Society and the Reaching Home Community Advisory Board released the results of their third point-in-time count that found 85 percent of Whitehorse’s homeless population are Indigenous.

According to the Coast Hotels website, the High Country Inn is temporarily closed until further notice.

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