Michael Fatt arrived in Yellowknife in 2008.
He moved into a tent behind the legislative assembly.
Fatt would spend six years living homeless in Yellowknife, moving around between different locations.
Fatt said when he was homeless, there were few supports available in the city.
He struggled for six years with addiction until he signed up to be admitted to a rehabilitation facility.
After he left rehab, he returned to Yellowknife, and partnering with the Yellowknife Women’s Society started a pilot program called Common Ground.
The program aims to provide homeless people working, providing low-cost maintenance services.
Fatt says it has helped a number of people, including himself deal with issues around substance use and addiction.
The program has been running for two years.
Fatt said he hopes they can expand the program beyond providing employment opportunities to running a mentorship program.
Fatt said that kind of peer-to-peer understanding a mentorship program could provide is something that is lacking in other services in the city.
Outside of the Common Ground program, Fatt has been an advocate for homeless shelters, speaking in front of city council during their deliberations on the temporary day shelter.
Fatt has also been running a bottle-drive to purchase Christmas gifts for families in need, raising over $2,000 so far.