Yellowknife sobering centre's permanent location delayed 6 more months

The sobering centre in Yellowknife will have to wait up to another six months to move to its permanent location.

In a press release Wednesday, the Northwest Territories' Health and Social Services Authority announced the centre will continue to run out of the Salvation Army for the time being, where it's been operating since November.

The Salvation Army was meant to be a temporary solution for the centre while a new permanent locationdowntown Yellowknife was being renovated.

In November, Nathalie Nadeau, director of child, family and community wellness for the authority, told CBC it planned to have thenew location renovated by the end of March.

That was to prevent a gap in services after the initial lease with the Salvation Army ended around that time.

However, acontract for the renovation of the permanent location wasn't awarded until the beginning of February, so SDR Contracting Ltd. Construction, which won the contract, has only just started construction.

• Building issues, landlord reluctance delay Yellowknife sobering centre

The new location on 50th Street, next to the Northern Lites Motel and across the street from the Northern News Services newspaper office, would also house a day shelter for homeless people.

The centre offers a space indoors for people to sober up from 2 p.m. to 7 a.m. daily.

Once moved in, this would make the centre's third home.

• Former downtown bar pegged as new location for Yellowknife sobering centre

The first temporary sobering centre was set up at the Yellowknife Community Arena. The City offered the arena as a temporary home last summer after many failed attempts by the territorial government to find a location. It needed to vacate the arena for fall programing, and found a second temporary location at the Salvation Army.

According to the press release, the sobering centre will continue to run "through the transition into its new location."

That move is expected in the next six months.