YWCA NWT has released its annual report, highlighting the work that the non-profit organization has done during the COVID pandemic, and itSA国际影视传媒檚 seeking clarity from the GNWT.

The YWCA housed 96 families, prevented 80 families from becoming homeless and helped 39 people find employment, among other achievements, according to the report, which was released on Sept. 27.

COVID proved to be a significant obstacle, however.

SA国际影视传媒淭he pandemic itself has been really challenging in many ways and we had to pivot a lot to with the work that we do,SA国际影视传媒� said Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, executive director of YWCA NWT. SA国际影视传媒淭rying to navigate the new health orders as they become available, trying to figure out what support our staff needs, what support our clients need in order to prevent high turn over.

SA国际影视传媒淭here was a lot of the issues with staff being worried about going to work and feeling safe while at work because they were not sure about the people that were coming in to access our services,SA国际影视传媒� she added. SA国际影视传媒淲e spent a lot of time having conversations, doing a lot of education pieces around the COVID itself, and what we can do to ensure staff are safe. We put a lot of stuff in place from the start, having a conversation with Public Health (and others) to make sure that we were putting in the right COVID exposure plans for each of our program sites.SA国际影视传媒�

These program sites include YWCA NWT housing, shelters located in Yellowknife and Fort Smith, second-stage housing for women that were victims of abuse and an after-school department.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 been really challenging,SA国际影视传媒� said Dumbuya-Sesay.

YWCA NWT stated that it worked closely with the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer and the WorkersSA国际影视传媒� Safety and Compensation Commission to ensure plans and regulations were followed. However, there is still more to be done, with more support being sought from the GNWT.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think right now what weSA国际影视传媒檙e trying to do is to see if we can get a key contact person there (within the territorial government),SA国际影视传媒� said Dumbuya-Sesay. SA国际影视传媒淚f there is any exposure (to COVID-19), if there is any misinformation in the information they post on the GNWT website, if we have questions on how those would relate to our specific programs, it would be ideal for us to have one key contact person that we can ask about specific things around that programming.

SA国际影视传媒淲e tend to get different information depending on the number of people we speak with, so now weSA国际影视传媒檙e really pushing for itSA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淪o far, weSA国际影视传媒檙e still waiting on them. WeSA国际影视传媒檝e e-mailed twice already. Now weSA国际影视传媒檙e just waiting on them to get back to us on that.SA国际影视传媒�

Even with the various supports in place for the YWCA, Dumbuya-Sesay remains SA国际影视传媒渧ery cautiousSA国际影视传媒� about YWCA staff possibly taking on too much and becoming burnt out.

SA国际影视传媒淚 donSA国际影视传媒檛 see us struggling with what weSA国际影视传媒檙e doing right now, but the problem is weSA国际影视传媒檙e not able to add any more onto our plate at this time,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淲e consistently try to take on new projects to make sure that weSA国际影视传媒檙e supporting women and children as best as we can. One of the projects that weSA国际影视传媒檝e been trying to work on since 2020, we had to put it on hold because of the pandemic.

SA国际影视传媒淎 big thanks to our staff, especially,SA国际影视传媒� said Dumbuya-Sesay. SA国际影视传媒淥ur staff is our key resource in being able to do what weSA国际影视传媒檙e doing now.SA国际影视传媒�

YWCA NWT is currently raising money online for ; SA国际影视传媒渢he construction of a new building beside LynnSA国际影视传媒檚 Place in downtown Yellowknife and provide integrated, onsite support services for families under one roof.SA国际影视传媒�

The campaign ends Dec. 1.