📋 Tender Overview
The Council of Yukon First Nations CYFN and John Howard Society Pacific have been selected by the Government of Yukon to assume operation of the Housing First residence on Wood Street in Whitehorse as of April 6 2021.The two organizations have formed a new partnership that capitalizes on their mutual and individual areas of expertise. They recently submitted a joint proposal that meets all of the criteria outlined in the Expression of Interest issued by the Government of Yukon in October 2020.The John Howard Society Pacific is a social service organization that operates throughout British Columbia and in Yukon. It has extensive experience delivering innovative and person-centered programs including housing community-based residential facilities outreach and community services.CYFNs partnership on this project will ensure that the services and support delivered to residents are locally contextually and culturally relevant to better support the residences many Indigenous tenants. We are very pleased that the Council of Yukon First Nations and the John Howard Society are partnering together to assume operations of the Housing First residence. We are confident that they will continue to deliver the important services that help people achieve greater independence and foster positive community connections. Minister of Health and Social Services Pauline FrostCYFN is enthusiastic about working in partnership with the John Howard Society. We look forward to introducing holistic and culturally-informed approaches to complement the John Howard Societys strength in program delivery for at-risk persons. Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief Peter JohnstonWe are thankful for the opportunity to work collaboratively with the Council of Yukon First Nations and Yukon government to assume operations of the Housing First residence in Whitehorse. We respect the great work of the Housing First residence team over the past year and are excited to contribute to this well-established program. We are honoured to bring our shared values and extensive experience in housing supervision and low-barrier harm reduction services to support residents and the community.John Howard Society Pacific CEO Mark MillerQuick facts The Government of Yukon has been operating the Housing First residence since February 2020 when the first tenants moved into the building.Governments intent has always been for the residence to be operated by a non-governmental organization.The Housing First residence has 16 units and is currently housing 18 tenants.The transition to the new operators will have no impact on the residences tenants. Service delivery will continue uninterrupted.Housing First is an approach to ending homelessness that centers on moving people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing. It provides people with immediate access to housing with no housing readiness requirements.
