Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last week the Premier's Awards for Excellence recognized the outstanding work of individuals and organizations, and today I'd like to highlight some exceptional work being done by folks based in Yellowknife North.
The Salvation Army has been a key partner in getting the transitional housing for addictions recovery program up and running here in Yellowknife. We've known for many years that in order to set people up for success who are returning from addictions programs down south, they need stable supportive housing and a chance to establish new routines and new social connections. Finally we're starting to fill this gap.
The Salvation Army with government partners has repurposed an existing home into five transitional housing units. They offer flexible, recovery-oriented programming tailored to each resident. It took years of hard work to bring this brandnew program to fruition, so hopefully this process has cleared an easier path for transitional housing programs in the future.
Another Premier's Award for Excellence went to Megan Lowry and Amy Chin, community health nurses who run a street outreach program in Yellowknife. They are effectively meeting people where they're at, setting up mobile clinics, offering outreach and care at shelters, encampments and on sidewalks, throughout the city. They provide culturally safe care ranging from non-emergency medical care to immunizations, chronic disease management, STI screening, assessments and referrals, all in a one-stop shop, which is so rare in Yellowknife where our healthcare services are often so compartmentalized and cumbersome to access.
I think this is a case where Yellowknife is learning and gaining a lot from the small community model of care where community health nurses take the lead. With some freedom to innovate, these nurses have truly gone above and beyond their job description. They have shown what truly integrated care looks like by working in a hands-on way side by side with non-profit shelter providers. Due to their passion and drive to make a difference, the street outreach nursing team has managed to expand health care access, reduce emergency room visits, and measurably improve health outcomes for our most vulnerable residents.
Congratulations to the Salvation Army and to Megan and Amy of the street outreach community health nurse team. Now it's our job to ensure the government continues to enable and support this kind of innovative and effective work. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Thank you, Member from Yellowknife North. Members' statements. Member from Sahtu.
