In Saint John, the emergency shelter established to help the homeless population through the winter is preparing to close by the end of the month, which has prompted the question: what’s next?
“You can feel it, you can feel a little heaviness, when you go into the shelter cause there’s anxiety,” said Nick Shepard, the manager of the shelter and an outreach coordinator for the Salvation Army.
On average, about 40 people experiencing homelessness use the shelter each night, though that number has dwindled as the temperature continues to rise.
“The fact that we only had about six weeks to cobble this together back in November, late-October, what we were able to accomplish, we’re pretty happy with,” Shepard said.
Last fall, municipal and provincial governments funded the emergency shelter inside the shuttered Hilton Belyea Arena on the city’s west side.
Shepard hopes the closure of the Belyea can prompt the opening of a low-barrier shelter in Saint John, a resource he believes the city lacks.
“There’s very much a need in the city for a permanent low barrier shelter. There are a lot of people who, you know, they’re not ready to make that leap forward (into housing), and, yeah, there’s a really great need for that.”
The need
According to the Human Development Council, as of January, Saint John had 202 people experiencing homelessness. Out of these individuals, 146 were experiencing chronic homelessness,
Warm temperatures will likely result in many of these individuals returning to tent encampments, which have become more common around the city in recent years.
The increase has pushed people like Ivan and Johanne McCullough to find new ways to help those in need.
The pair founded Street Team SJ in October after learning people living in encampments weren’t served food directly. Since then, the volunteer group has expanded to four teams, providing food and necessities.
“We went from delivering meals to finding out they needed socks, and they needed boots, and they needed coats and blankets, and sleeping bags and tents,” said Ivan, adding the team has started to gather items through donations.
In addition to a warm response from those in encampments, McCullough said their work has grown rapidly due to “fantastic” community response.
He said the team is always in need of more supplies like trail mix, fresh fruit, socks and tents to deliver to their “unhoused friends.”
They are also expecting the shelter’s closure to impact the demand for their services. As many encampments are abandoned for the winter, most people will be starting from scratch.
“They’ll find some place warm to hole up in or try to stay warm in until it’s time to go to the shelter, then they have to come out of the shelter and do the whole thing all over again,” he said. “It’s not a cycle I’d like to have to be repeating.”
What’s the plan?
Since the emergency shelter opened in December, Shepard said they are seeing about 10 people transition to permanent housing options each month.
Shepard said this includes a housing program or a rehabilitation facility.
In an email to Global News, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Development noted a transition team has been created to help the people using the temporary shelter obtain “safe, affordable and appropriate housing.”
“A plan is being developed for these individuals through collaboration with private landlords, property managers and NBHC (New Brunswick Housing Corporation) public housing. The team has individuals that need housing and the supports required to ensure successful tenancy,” said Rebecca Howland, adding people will be housed in the coming weeks.
Howland said the team, consisting of several stakeholders, meets weekly, working to identify appropriate housing with supports.
“The province’s focus is on long-term, permanent solutions to prevent homeless using approaches such as transitional housing with wrap-around supports, rent supplements, and creating affordable housing opportunities,” Howland stated. “The province continues to work closely with several partners and municipalities to explore the best ways to support New Brunswickers who are experiencing homelessness.”
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