Housing project for youth to open in June in Yellowknife

A new agreement between the City of Yellowknife and the Sidedoor Youth Centre will see a new housing project erected for homeless and at-risk youth.

The 10 to 15 unit project will serve as temporary housing for youth between the age of 16 and 24.

The hope is it will help youth like Andrew Ovayuak get back on track. The 22-year-old has been calling the emergency shelter at SideDoor home on and off for the past two years.

I'll get my sleeping hours fixed and look for a job, have somewhere to go at night, have three square meals a day and have a place to relax.

Last year 122 at-risk youth from across the Northwest Territories accessed support services at SideDoor.

Iris Hamlyn, the centres executive director, says the project is a major step up from their emergency shelter.

It's bad enough to be without a job or income,but if you're worrying about where you're staying overnight you can't really address your addiction or mental health. And a lot of times homelessness leads to addictions and mental health issues and if we can stop that and help end that cycle we can make a huge impact on homeless youth.

Through a federal program, the CIty will be contributing nearly $600,000 over a five-year period.

That money will pay to lease the building -- the location is being finalized and has not yet been made public.

The new shelter is expected to open in June. It will be called Hope's Haven.