TRANSITIONAL HOUSING
YWCA NWT offers supportive housing options to women and families. Contact our Housing Office at 1-(867) 873-5760 or drop in to 5015-54th St, Yellowknife from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. to discuss your family housing needs. Potential applicants must contact YWCA NWT Family Support staff to complete an application.
Supportive Transitional & Emergency Housing
Gotı̨li Kǫ̀ and Lynn's Safe Place for Women
What makes transitional housing different from an ordinary housing is the care and attention provided by family support workers. YWCA NWT staff work with each family to look at issues that may have destabilized the family’s housing in the past such as debt, addictions, physical or mental health issues, family violence, or others and offers in-house programming, referrals, and other supports. Once stabilized, YWCA NWT works with families to move on to permanent housing within the community.
YWCA NWT is the owner and operator of two residential transitional housing programs: Gotı̨li Kǫ̀ and Lynn's Safe Place for Women. While both share the same address (5015-54th Street, Yellowknife), these are separate buildings that have different mandates as described below.
Building operations and maintenance are funded through occupancy and program fees, as well as some external government funding. Further information on housing funding expenses and revenue is reported in our annual Impact Reports.
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Gotı̨li Kǫ̀ (Our Path)
Address: 5015-54th Street, Yellowknife NT
Gotı̨lı Kǫ̀ means “our path” in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii. Having opened in December 2023, Gotı̨lı Kǫ̀ has four floors, with 21 family units on three floors – three studio units, twelve one-bedroom units, and six two-bedroom units. Half of the units are fully accessible and suit families with a variety of mobility needs. Several housing units are kept open as emergency units for women and families who need emergency units.
YWCA NWT staff offices and program spaces on the main floor. Residents can stay up to three years until they are stabilized and ready to move on to their own independent housing.
Gotı̨li Kǫ̀ Occupancy Fees
YWCA NWT occupancy fees are tied to annual assessments from the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC), who determines the average market rent in each province and territory, as well as CMHC funding requirements. Occupancy fees at Gotı̨lı Kǫ̀ are set at market rental rates, as determined by CMHC, and will be no more than 30% of an occupant’s gross earned income. YWCA NWT family support workers will work with families to access subsidies and other programs to help them meet their financial obligations.
Occupancy fees as of January 1, 2024
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Studio unit - $1,420
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1 bedroom - $1,800
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2 bedroom - $2,075
Application Information
Applicants are reviewed for need and availability of housing units. Call the Transitional
Housing office at (867) 873-5760 for an application. Please note – the need for
housing units is often higher than what is available. If a unit is not available, you may be
added to the YWCA NWT housing wait list.
Thank you to Gotı̨lı Kǫ̀ program supporters:
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Government of Canada
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Government of the Northwest Territories
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Scotiabank ScotiaRISE program
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City of Yellowknife
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Shoppers Health Foundation
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United Way NWT
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Ecclesiastical Insurance
Lynn's Safe Place for Women (Hotì Etsanda Kǫ̀)
Address: 5015-54th Street, Yellowknife NT
Also referred to as Hoti Etsanda Kǫ̀ (Healthy Living Place) in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii, Lynn’s Place has been welcoming women and their children since 2014. Lynn’s Place is a safe housing building that contains 18 suites on three floors. There are six bed-sit units for single women (including two that are wheelchair accessible), ten two-bedroom units and two three-bedroom units. Rent is affordable, using CMHC affordability guidelines.
Lynn’s Place is for women who need safe housing after leaving a violent relationship or who are ready to find stability in a safe environment.
Lynn's Place Occupancy Fees
Occupancy fees for Lynn’s Place are affordable and tied to CMHC affordability requirements that occupants pay no more than 80% of average market rents as determined by CMHC. YWCA NWT has chosen not to increase occupancy fees at Lynn’s Place since 2016. Fees will rise in 2024 as per the following table:
Occupancy fees as of February 1, 2024:
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Studio unit - $1,135
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1 bedroom - $$1,440
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2 bedroom - $1,660
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3 bedroom - $1,930
Application Information
Applicants are assessed for need and willingness to engage in the programming offered at the safe housing building. Call the
Transitional Housing office at (867) 873-5760 for an application. Tenants are welcome to stay for up to three years.
Lynn’s Place is not an emergency shelter – if you are in immediate danger, contact the RCMP, call 911, or contact the
YWCA NWT crisis line at 1-866-223-7775 (toll free).
About Lynn Brooks, namesake for Lynn’s Safe Place for Women
Lynn arrived in Yellowknife in the 1970’s, a single mom looking for a new start after a violent relationship. She began
working at the YWCA day care in 1977, and then became the director of children’s services and the battered women’s
program (as it was then known). She played a key role in establishing the YWCA NWT Alison McAteer House family
violence shelter, which opened in 1986. Lynn also served as the Executive Director for the NWT Status of Women
Council, and she and her husband have fostered teenage girls for 20+ years. Lynn’s life embodies our hope for this
building: that women will be able to turn their troubled past into lives of strength and independence.
Thank you to Lynn's Place Program Supporters:
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Government of Canada
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Government of the Northwest Territories
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Canadian Women’s Foundation
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Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation
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Women’s Shelters Canada
Transitional Housing Programs
Clients have access to many programs and resources while staying in YWCA NWT transitional or emergency housing. Some of these are described below.
FOCUS Employment Program
Supported by Scotiabank ScotiaRISE Program and the Government of the Northwest Territories
FOCUS invests in people first and assists clients in YWCA transitional housing transition into employment by providing clients with basic career development support, advice, and guidance. It includes everything from addressing the root causes of why clients cannot find and keep employment in the first place, to assisting with resume preparation and job search, and money management and budgeting after they receive their first and ongoing paycheques. This employment project is part of the inclusive programming for women and men who want to make positive changes in their lives. Many of these people are low-income, have been unemployed long-term, are receiving income assistance or unemployment support, need intensive personal support, and have had previous or current issues with finding and keeping suitable employment.
Housing, Food, and Families First
Supported by NWT Food Rescue, Independent Grocery, Yellowknife Co-op Grocery, and Ecclesiastical Insurance
YWCA's 'Housing, Food, and Families First' project teaches basic principles of good nutrition in a respectful way, family meal preparation and celebration with others, provide families with nutritious, culturally-appropriate food, and provide support for families to live healthy lives with dignity. Food security at the community level is when all citizens have reliable, personally acceptable, and nutritious diet choices through a sustainable food system that maximizes healthy choices, community self-reliance, and equal access for everyone. By providing groceries and meat at a reasonable price, as well as providing cooking classes that make the most of a dollar, YWCA staff will help ensure that families are fed and, most importantly, that they can focus on the root causes that put or are keeping them in poverty in the first place.
Literacy & Computer Skills
Supported by NWT Literacy Foundation
Family support workers and other skilled local organizations work with clients and children to assist with literacy skills and basic computer skills such as word processing, email, and more. And when parents are attending programming, kids can enjoy books and resources from the NWT Literacy Council to stay engaged and interested in learning and reading.
Indigenous Mental Wellness Program
Supported by Indigenous Services Canada and Shoppers Foundation Health Initiative Fund
Indigenous mental wellness programs reconnect women and their children to the land and provide healing and wellness through traditional education and healing. Working with Indigenous Elders and partners, women who have experienced violence and/or abuse take part in inspiring journeys of adventure, challenge and healing. Reconnecting people to the land reconnects them to their own sense of self and helps them to find their own voice and let go of negative emotions and trauma through various traditional activities such as fire ceremonies, sharing circles, beading circles, camping trips and other traditional activities to bring community members together to
identify shared values, to learn and practice ways of listening without judgment, and to
encourage one other.