‘Frustrating’: Town still without out-of-cold shelter

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Officials with the New Brunswick government are still working with community leaders to set up an out-of-the-cold shelter in the St. Stephen region.

More than 100 people are currently believed to be homeless or precariously housed in the area, either living in tents or couchsurfing with friends or family on the cusp of winter, according to St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern.

Despite this, the Department of Social Development recently thwarted a community proposal to use a provincially owned property in St. Stephen for an out-of-the-cold shelter. Minister Jill Green told the legislature last week the property was “deemed unsuitable.”

“Right now we’ve got unsheltered people in encampments and the cold weather is here,” MacEachern said Tuesday. “We need to find a location for these people and get them in shelter.”

Officials have been struggling to find an available and accessible space for the shelter in St. Stephen, which draws people from around Charlotte County to access social services. A 15-bed warming centre operated at the corner of King and Prince William streets last winter, but MacEachern said that space is no longer available.

The New Brunswick government recently announced the locations for out-of-the-cold shelters in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton.

“My feeling is that the province focused on the cities,” said MacEachern, who met with provincial officials and fellow community leaders Friday to discuss the “frustrating” situation.

“St. Stephen is teetering between town and city right now. We’re almost at the stage of a city and we’ve got big-city problems as you can see here.”

Brunswick News asked the Department of Social Development about the status of finding a location for a winter shelter in St. Stephen. It also asked about the suggestion that the department had forgotten about smaller communities in planning for out-of-the-cold winter shelters this year.

In an email, spokesperson Rebecca Howland said since the summer, Social Development has been “actively involved” with a St. Stephen community group to “find a suitable location” for the shelter.

This is (the province’s) ball, but we’re ready to help and I made that very clear the other day at the meeting.

Allan MacEachern

“The department recently signed a contract with Neighbourhood Works, a local service provider for professional outreach services and is committed to provide financial support to the out-of-the-cold response when the community has identified an appropriate location.”

But MacEachern said it’s actually the province’s problem to solve with the help of the community.

“This is the big confusion in all this,” he said. “This is (the province’s) ball, but we’re ready to help and I made that very clear the other day at the meeting.”

Social Development Minister Jill Green defended last week her department’s level of preparedness in planning for out-of-the-cold shelters this year. Liberal Leader Susan Holt had questioned “the lack of progress” on the file.

“I take exception to ‘lack of action’ because there has been a huge amount of work related to homelessness that has been ongoing,” Green said in the legislature. “We have been working in the homeless sector since early this summer because we could see what was going to be happening.

“Winter comes every year, Mr. Speaker.”

Mayor calls for year-round homeless shelter

The New Brunswick government plans to spend $10.5 million on shelters and outreach services for the homeless by the end of this fiscal year. Of that, $1.4 million will fund out-of-the-cold shelters, which includes new locations and additional beds in permanent shelters.

St. Stephen doesn’t have a year-round shelter, but MacEachern said it’s time for a permanent refuge given the growing tent encampments in a region of about 30,000 people.

“We’re worried about the winter months, but there’s the cost of having the unsheltered moving throughout the community during the warm weather,” he said, noting policing resources have been devoted to the issue.

Last season, St. Stephen’s 15-bed warming centre saw 67 unique individuals access the service from December to the end of this April, Green told the legislature. Fifty-nine unique individuals used beds for at least one day in March and April.

Neighbourhood Works operated the warming centre at the corner of King and Prince William streets last winter. The non-profit remains at the table to discuss possible solutions with the province.

“We are looking at every possibility and will not abandon (an out-of-the-cold shelter) until something comes to fruition,” executive director Jim Stuart said in an email Monday. “I know this is vague and it is meant to be because we do not want to give false hope to those we serve.

“They have enough hopelessness as it is.”