The YWCA NWT supports over 4,000 people across the territory through their advocacy, housing and youth programs to name a few, yet the organization is still facing federal funding hurdles, even as it reaches a 60-year mark of services in the N.W.T.
Hawa Dumbuya-Sesay, Executive Director of the YWCA says the organization’s youth programs in particular are facing challenges in attaining financial backing.
“Currently, with the funding that we get to run these programs, it’s very limited. We get some funding from the GNWT, and sometimes we go out and look for different grants from the city of Yellowknife, for example, or the Canadian Women’s Foundation and through donations as well. We’ve been able to sustain this program over the last 15 plus years, but we continue to struggle to really find stable, sustainable funding for both programs that will enable us to really serve the youth that are in need of these supports in our community,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
The YWCA’s GirlSpace, Project Child Recovery and Dudes Club work with youth in Yellowknife and surrounding areas with a goal of supporting and empowering them.
Girlspace allows youth to build skills, including leadership, teamwork, self-reliance, increased independence, self-awareness and positive self-esteem. The program is focused on creating opportunities for youth to “learn, grow and share” in a “non-judgmental” environment.
Project Child Recovery is a program that supports children and youth who have experienced trauma, due to family violence, substance abuse, grief and loss, and bullying.
Dudes Club is an empowerment and leadership program that helps youth develop and hone coping strategies by allowing opportunities for them to pursue their passions and dreams while also providing access to services, support and positive role models.
“Some of them are facing bullying situations and sometimes kids just need a safe space where they can go interact with positive role models, interact with other kids, learn about their community, learn about themselves and healthy ways to cope with stress, anxiety, and learning about their bodies and their rights as humans. This is just a wonderful opportunity and a wonderful space that we’ve created for the youth where they can come together to gain all these skills, but also we involve them in the community,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
The program currently supports over 70 youth in the Yellowknife and Ndilǫ area.
“Youth are able to access this program, and we also run the program in schools in Yellowknife,” added Dumbuya-Sesay.
The program is also run through elementary schools and through after-school programs.
“It’s really about giving the kids a space where they can be themselves, learn about themselves, learn about their rights, learn about their overall well-being. And be able to also learn about the community, the resources and the opportunities that are available to them because we want to set them up in the right path so that they have very successful and driving futures,” emphasized Dumbuya-Sesay.
The organization is working on a fundraising initiative that will help support their youth programs.
“We came to the N.W.T, as the result of a call from the commissioner at the time and we started by providing housing to women at the time that were coming to Yellowknife from smaller communities for school or vocational activities.”
YWCA came to Yellowknife in 1966 to help provide housing to the community’s growing
population of single, working women. Today the organization including over 80 front line staff, who work in housing, legal, childcare, family and youth programs, as well as the family violence shelter, which is among the few territory-run shelters of its kind in the North.
The history of the YWCA has not been without controversy, in 2024 local and national organization leaders apologized for the YWCA’s historic involvement in colonial assimilation programs.
“2024: YWCA Canada issues formal apology to Indigenous communities for its historical involvement in the operation of residential schools and ‘Indian hospitals’. YWCA NWT commits to create a Reconciliation plan including implementation of the Truth & Reconciliation (TRC) Recommendations,” said YWCA leaders in a timeline marking major movements within the group’s history.
In 2024, the YWCA NWT appointed their first in-house Elder to offer guidance and direction regarding Indigenous issues and community based responses, as well as guide initiatives enacting the TRC’s recommendations.
The YWCA’s housing, family violence shelter, legal, childcare, family along with their youth programs are in growing demand.
“Over the years, we’re just finding that more and more need is coming from the community where with the issue of housing insecurity, and the increase of gender-based violence across Canada, and more so in the territory. We’re finding more and more women and families are seeing it themselves and are facing this situations and they need help,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
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Former Minister for the status of women and housing Minister Lucy Kuptana recently told the Legislative Assembly, two out of 100 people in the N.W.T. have reported intimate partner and family violence to police. And according to Stats Canada, the N.W.T. has the second highest rate of police-reported intimate partner and family violence in the country. Minister Kuptana also pointed out that many incidents of gender based violence go unreported, so the number is likely much higher.
Housing insecurity is closely connected to gender based violence. A 2024 country wide study found that nearly 80 per cent of people who experience gender based violence, said that the high cost of housing was a major barrier to leaving an abusive environment. In the far North, where the cost of living is disproportionately higher, the barrier is even greater.
“Our work has always been around filling community gaps and addressing those needs because our mission is around supporting women children and their families to thrive. We look at what are the current issues and trends in the community that women are facing that are putting them in vulnerable situations or putting them in situations where their safety is at risk. And so we always look at creating programs and support and advocacy to ensure that we can be able to support this group of people,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
“Over the years our program have always geared towards meeting the needs and our focus on being around gender-based values, prevention, housing for families, that are homeless. So at risk of homelessness, child care more specifically. Now with the after school, child care, we’re one of the biggest providers in the territory that provide after school, child care,” added Dumbuya-Sesay.
In August 2025, the organization announced their plans to build a new daycare in downtown Yellowknife, scheduled to open in March.
There is a high demand for daycare in the city, with “at least 50 people” on existing daycare waitlists at any given time, parents and guardians currently face a collective waitlist going “well into the hundreds,” Sarah, a co-ordinator with YWCA’s after-school program said.
“The demand for childcare spaces continues to rise, making it difficult for many women to enter the labour market due to challenges in finding safe, affordable and reliable childcare for their children,” said YCWA leadership in a statement issued regarding the daycare build.
Across the country, women bear the majority of unpaid labour, which according to a recent labour market study, is connected the high cost of childcare and caregivers’ ability to enter the workforce and maintain employment.
“The 60th anniversary is about looking and celebrating the wins. And also acknowledging the challenges that we face, that we’ll face in this work and we continue to face but knowing that we have the support and with with the willingness of the community to keep supporting this work, we’re able to then achieve so many more things because
“The issue of housing security for families, the issue of child care and the issue of Youth support and family, support is still very much needed. The gap is still very wide that we need to close as a community and as an organisation, and we’re here to to continue to do that work.”
Advocacy is something that takes place on a daily basis, at various levels from front line work to strategic planning.
“We have anywhere from 85 to 100 staff at any given time providing frontline support to women children and their families and youth in doing this work,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
“We want to continue to make sure that we can advocate and give a voice to these issues. So part of the work that we do is not just local advocacy, but we also do national advocacy as well,” explained Dumbuya-Sesay.
The organization partners with YWCA Canada and other national organizations such as Women Shelters Canada, the Ending Sexual Violence Association.
YWCA NWT runs the Alison McAteer House family violence shelter, that moved into a separate building in 1996, it is the only GNWT backed shelter in the city of Yellowknife for women and families seeking refuge from violence.
Earlier this month the YWCA issued an announcement about their 60 year anniversary. Organization leadership pointed out that one reason the group stands among the largest non profits of the North is because of their ability to adapt and respond to community needs.
“A major reason we’re still here and continue to grow is how we’ve been able to evolve to meet the needs of those who need us most. It’s humbling to hear from people how much the YWCA means to them and how their lives have changed because of our programs and our staff,” said Dumbuya-Sesay.
“As we celebrate our 60th anniversary, we reflect on the generations of women, children, and families who have found support, empowerment, and hope through our doors. This milestone is a testament to our community’s strength and our team’s dedication. Looking ahead, we renew our promise to listen deeply, to adapt to evolving needs, and to champion equity and opportunity for those we serve”, added Dumbuya-Sesay.
At a recent community event, Dumbay-Sesay spoke of the ways that the YWCA recognizes that violence is a historic and ongoing issue that involves multiple overlapping barriers.
“We recognize that violence faced by women is rooted not only in gendered power imbalances but also in classicism, racism and colonialism – all forces that shape the choices and barriers that women experience every day. For many, leaving an abusive partner or situation is not simple or even possible because of all these overlapping issues.”
Community leaders at the YWCA NWT plan to host initiatives and events to mark the organization’s anniversary and put a spotlight on some of programs, front line staff and clients
The organization has also recently published their five-year strategic plan, which will be used to help guide their future directions, aimed at creating more equitable and inclusive spaces for adults, youth and families.
