For Warren Maddox, there are a lot of questions about government funding that was announced back in October for emergency shelters and support for those experiencing homelessness.
The province announced $8 million over three years “to better support emergency shelters and help reduce chronic homelessness.”
However, Maddox said his organization, Fredericton Shelters, has only seen about $100,000 of that money purposely earmarked for an emergency out-of-the-cold shelter.
“The statement that came out of Social Development last week, which was a bit insulting, was, ‘well they’ve given us more money,’” he said. “Not really, they gave us $100,000 to run out-of-the-cold emergency space, which is actually a burden on our organization. It’s more staff, it’s more complex. Way more complex.”
He said the issue isn’t just giving someone a place to stay at night.
“It’s really critical for us, and for other shelters, to be able to be given the kind of funding that we need for the job we’re being expected and told that we need to do,” he said in an interview on Tuesday.
Funding parameters
Back in October, the province said the funding would be available to contribute to better outcomes for clients, identifying short-term supportive alternatives and helping find stable housing. It said the funding “will be based on services provided” and that shelters “must have plans in place to increase the number of beds available during extreme weather.”
“It’s almost been radio silence,” Maddox said. “The shame of it is if all that new money, for years that we’ve been asking for, gets frittered away on something that doesn’t have any impact on what it is the shelters are trying to do.”
On Saturday, when temperatures dipped to feel like -45 C with the wind chill, there was no space for those living outside to go.
Maddox said all available options including the out-of-the-cold facility were at capacity.
A warming centre set up on Friday by the University of New Brunswick Community Health Clinic was closed. Organizers of that facility said the timing was a problem, in addition to issues with the lease.
Joan Kingston said the plan moving forward is to open on any day that temperatures dip to dangerous levels.
“All the pieces hadn’t fallen into place,” she said. “We found a good solution to cover off that day.”
Wilmot Baptist Church was that solution, Kingston said. A partner, she explained, the centre was grateful to have this past weekend. The church opened its doors on Saturday, keeping many sheltered from the frigid temperatures.
Kingston said the warming centre is funded jointly between the province and federal government but is running for under $100,000.
“We know that, although our goal is to have people housed, we are in the midst of a situation where a lot of people are still sleeping rough,” she said.
So far, Kingston said, the space is getting frequent use – up to 15 to 20 people per day.
However, Maddox said things are as bad as ever. There are more people to care for and there has been no adjustment for how the environment has changed.
He said it is one of the most violent years his staff have had to contend with, as many people’s behaviour is being fueled by new drug cocktails.
“It’s explosive,” he said.
In the past two weeks, Maddox said two staff members have been physically assaulted. He said out-of-the-cold shelters and warming centres can’t even be considered a band-aid solution.
“A bunch of people out there are tough and they’ve been through a number of winters, so they know,” he said. “Overall, it’s getting harder. The mental health issues are getting harder. The drugs are harder to deal with and work with and there are some that have come through this year that are really nasty.”
Using consulting firm from another province
The Department of Social Development said it has given out $1.6 million of the $8 million planned, of which $243,115 was given to the Fredericton region. It did say the funding was used “for warming centers or the expansion of shelter capacity in many communities.”
The Fredericton Shelters, according to the department, did receive $100,000 for an extreme weather shelter at the Aquatic Centre.
It did not provide a more specific breakdown of where the remaining funds were used.
Rebecca Howland, a spokesperson for the department, did confirm the province is working with OrgCode, based in Ontario, for expertise on homelessness.
“Part of this work is to develop a funding model for shelters and extreme weather responses for the next fiscal year, 2023-2024,” she said in a statement.
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Maddox said it doesn’t make sense for the province to be outsourcing a firm to tackle a problem he and his staff, alongside many other organizations, work through every day.
For him, there is an accountability problem.
“I think on that front, Mr. Higgs is very big on accountability and demanding accountability from organizations like us in the community and the agencies that work here … it goes both ways,” he said.
He said he doesn’t believe the organizations on the front lines have the same power to question the government’s spending in the same way.
“Let them spend a week here at the shelters,” he said. “That’d be an eye-opener.”
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