The Research Project

2007-06-01: Whitehorse, YT

First Stop - Whitehorse, YT

Last evening we arrived in Whitehorse. It was glowingly bright, despite the fact that it was already late in the day, and it stayed bright well past the time I went to bed - which was, in local time, around 11:30 pm. Yes, it was early, but in my head I was still on eastern time, where it was 2:30 A.M.

First Impressions: cool, clean air, snow-covered mountains, beautiful clouds. Quiet. I expected black flies, but so far there are none. There is nothing familiar about the place from my last visit, which is not a surprise really. I had been here once before, for a day or two, in 1967, mid winter. All I saw then, all I recall at any rate, was snow and crows - or perhaps they were ravens. They were certainly large and black. I also had a dim memory of the story about how the big paddle sternwheeler S.S. Klondike had been skidded across the city on a bed of laundry soap to a permanent location - aground - to become a national historic site. I had to check on the veracity of this when I got to Whitehorse to make certain that if I related it I would not be making a fool of myself. It is true!

Lisa and I went for a brief walk after dinner. Large, colourful murals around town seem to have replaced or forestalled graffiti - or perhaps that isn't in the culture here. Saw few people on the street, though there was some action around the bar by the hotel - which, as it turned out, is one of the places that the local outreach van visits.

The night sky was beautiful, subtle. A bit misty. Later - about 11:00 there was a fine sunset - or as close as one can get to sunset here, since it never gets really dark at this time of the year. I was too tired to go out and view it, but looked at it sideways through my window.

This morning I got up early for breakfast and walked around the heart of the city. It was still very quiet, though there was a hint of a "rush hour". Later, Lynne, Lisa and I walked about more and took photographs, until it was time to meet the focus group at Skookum Jim Friendship Centre, a non-profit organization whose mission is to better the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical well being of First Nations peoples. There is a huge aboriginal population here, and many of them are quite poor.

We are not going to report in depth about the focus groups here - we will do this later, after we have completed the tour and transcribed and studied all the focus group material. But here are a few thoughts and observations, both from the focus group and the agency visits we made.

A real strength in Whitehorse is that agencies are working together to address the joint problems of drug use and poverty. An example of this is the Outreach Van program, “No Fixed Address”. There is good financial backing for this program from the Yukon Territorial Government, as well as support from the Rotary Club and some local businesses, which provide food and coffee to the outreach van. The Program itself is operated in partnership by Blood Ties Four Directions, Kwanlin Dun Health Centre, Yukon College and Yukon Family Services Association. The crying need of people who use the van’s services appears to be food and shelter - the most basic of the "health determinants". In fact, the demand for food from Outreach Van appears to outstrip that for safer crack-use kits or new needles.

People here told us they would like a place to go to regain their health and stability, which is removed from the drug scene. How can a person change, they asked, if they cannot get away from the places and people where and with whom the used ... and how can they maintain control over their drug use if, after treatment, they are sent back to the very environment where they had used their drugs? A perennial question.

They also expressed the need for additional support for pregnant women who use drugs. There are many young women here who have had numerous children, all of them in care now because of the lack of services to keep the parent-child relationship intact. This is a complex problem, and it is not just Whitehorse that lacks sufficient resources. That fact does not make it less sad or tragic.

A palpable strength in this community, however, is the kinship among the most marginalised people. It appears to be built on both the extended family traditions of Aboriginal culture and the brotherhood of the street. It is more, far more, than watching out for one another's back. It is a recognition that, somehow, we are all related.

In the evening, after the focus group, Lynne went out on the Van. The Van has two fixed routes, which it plies on alternative nights, visiting people living under duress in shacks and rooming houses. "Home visits" are a routine, along with stopping at predesignated locations. The workers know most of the people they see, and are familiar with their current situations and - in many cases - their past histories. However, there are also a large number of transient people who pass through Whitehorse or are here seasonally. The poverty and needs of the people visited by the van workers were enormous, more so when you consider the rigours of the climate here in the cold months. Winter temperatures in the minus 40s are not uncommon. Harm reduction here is as much - if not more - about satisfying basic life necessities than about new equipment and safer-use education.

And yet, there is only one organisation which is mandated to carry out harm reduction work - for the entirety of the Yukon territory.

Some attention must be given here to the community resistence to drug use.

Lynne noted that there were signs on some of the houses they visited or passed, one on each door - bright neon-green and 8 1/2x11 inches in size. These signs designate houses where it is suspected that drug use is taking place. These signs are part of the SCAN program. SCAN - Safer Community and Neighbourhood legislation - is a territorial program set up to handle complaints about unsafe and illegal activities, including drug-dealing and use, bootlegging, solvent abuse and prostitution. The signs state that suspicious activities have been observed on the premises and that the occupant is under observation. Under the legislation a person can be evicted, and her/his property seized. In effect: they can be rendered homeless. This seems to some a highly draconian measure. Surely there are - or should be - other ways. Information about this law is available at http://www.justice.gov.yk.ca/general/safer.html. Just follow the links.

The next day, Patricia Bacon took us on a tour of greater Whitehorse, to see the extent of the city, its services, and its indescribable beauty. We have posted a few photos.

It is easy to see how a person could come for a visit - and decide never to leave.

-- Walter