Social service agencies in the Yukon are concerned about how former residential school students have spent their compensation payments over the holidays, fuelled by reports of busy bars and vacation travel.

Hundreds of former students in the Yukon, along with thousands across Canada, have received payments since September under the federal government's $1.9-billion compensation package. Payments to date have averaged around $22,000 per person.

Agencies that work with former students, including the Committee on Abuse at Indian Residential Schools in Whitehorse, noticed a large number of payments arriving in the territory during the holiday season.

Kevin Barr, who runs a counselling and drop-in centre for CAIRS, told CBC News he has heard anecdotes of extra partying going on in the city's McIntyre Village, as well as reports of recipients travelling south with their compensation money.

"People have gone out to Edmonton or flown out to Vancouver to maybe have a great holiday, or to party. Who knows? We did hear that some of the local watering holes were busier than they've ever seen," Barr said Thursday.

The drop-in centre has been surprisingly quiet over the holidays, Barr said. He expressed concern that some recipients may "wake up and the money's gone, if you haven't used it in a good way.

"Those repercussions we won't hear about now because you've still got money in your pocket," he added. "Time will tell more about what's going to transpire, I think."

Agencies such as CAIRS say they are working to help recipients make reasonable choices with their money. Barr said some people are doing just that.

"Some guys that had been homeless were saying, 'I'm going to have my first apartment in 20 years. I have my light switch, I can turn it off and on when I want to.' That's a big deal," he said.