N.W.T. social worker presented with service award through living room window

Physical distancing didn't stop a social worker in the Northwest Territories from being honoured by the Canadian Association ofSocial Workers last week.

Yellowknife Women's Society executive director, Bree Denning, accepted the association's Distinguished Service Award through her living room window onFriday.

"I'm honoured to receive the award and the absurdity of how it was presented was actually quite funny," Denning told the host of CBC'sTrail's End.

Denning is one of seven Canadian social workers to receive the award for their outstanding contribution to their communities. She was nominated by fellow N.W.T. social workers, Susan Fitzky and Anneka Westergreen, who presented her with the award outside her window on Friday.

The award was then left in Denning's barbecue for her to get after the ceremony was over.

"She's been working hard in our community for a long time serving some of the most vulnerable people," Fitzky said.

"I mean she's a real representation of a social worker whose foundation is in social justice and working with the most vulnerable in our community and Bree does that in a very tireless way."

During her time with the Yellowknife Women's Society, Denning spearheaded the territory's Housing First Project, and helped create an eight-bedroom rental unit for women struggling with homelessness.

Ending homelessness is something that is achievable and it's something that we'll keep working toward- Bree Denning

She also worked to get the Street Outreach program in Yellowknife up and running while working to create the Yellowknife Work Ready program, which helps provide employment for people experiencing homelessness.

"When I first arrived [in Yellowknife] harm reduction was kind of not accepted and we were seen as enablers for trying to meet people where they are," Denning says.

"There's been such a shift in the community and politically toward really working with people and being able to do some innovative and new things," she said. "I think that's really exciting."

Denning says her next big project with the Women's Society will be converting the former Arnica Inn in Yellowknife into 42 bachelor apartments to be used as transitional housing. It's a plan that's been in the works for several years and was finally approved last week after hitting some roadblocks last month.

"We're extremely excited about the [Arnica Inn]. It's about finding the ways in which we can use that to best benefit the folks that are experiencing homelessness in our community," Denning says.

"Ending homelessness is something that is achievable and it's something that we'll keep working toward."