St. Stephen drop-in centre to include overnight stays: province

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The drop-in centre for St. Stephen’s homeless population is being expanded to include sleeping accommodations, the province announced Wednesday.

The 24/7 centre, which opened in December at Neighbourhood Works’ space at 59 Union St., will run until late April, Housing New Brunswick said in a press release.

The release says the municipality will be focusing on “longer-term supportive housing solutions” and develop a task force to develop types of housing and support that will be needed.

“What I like about this … it’s taking care of the immediate need, there’s no delays of construction or moving in the trailers or anything,” St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern told Brunswick News. “The other thing I like is that the province is committed into going immediately into the next phase, which is more important than temporary housing. The commitment from them on that is the important piece.”

A temporary housing facility at 24 Happy Valley Rd. announced by the province Jan. 16 was not mentioned in the government’s release.  After nearby residents expressed concerns around safety and the facility’s proximity to St. Stephen High School at a meeting two days later, MLA Kathy Bockus reportedly agreed to “pause” the project, and told reporters they would be taking the feedback to the province.

When asked Friday whether the project was cancelled, Kate Wright, department of social development communications manager, said only that the ministry “will continue to act as a collaborative partner as the community identifies next steps towards longer-term supportive housing.”

MacEachern said that during a visit Jan. 29 by Premier Blaine Higgs, the premier understood “how late we are at the game here, it’s cold here already.”

“We both agreed, let’s take care of the immediate need immediately, and let’s not put money towards … temporary shelters and go into the next phase, which is more important and more efficient,” MacEachern said.

Since that time, he said those involved were ironing out “the rules and regulations that we need to get through … to house people safely.”

“Strong partnerships are imperative to best address the unique needs of each community across New Brunswick,” Wright wrote in an e-mailed statement. “The Department of Social Development commends the municipality and the service provider for expanding services at this location to address the immediate need in St. Stephen.”

In January, MacEachern told reporters there were more than 100 unhoused people in the community of 4,150, some of whom are “living precariously in dangerous situations.” He said Wednesday he’s been told “nobody will be turned away” and that the situation is “not perfect, but it’s better. Nobody should be out in the cold at this point.”

MacEachern said the expanded service is a “better setup,” but they’re still acting reactively “to a bigger problem.”

“We still have a lot to do as a province and as a country, but this takes care of the immediate need,” he said.  “It’s definitely better, but still not the solution. Just get us through this winter.”

Neighbourhood Works ran an out-of-the-cold shelter last winter in a rented space on King Street. After a search for new locations involving 20 possible pieces of land, a proposal involving provincially owned land was ruled out in October, Brunswick News previously reported.

St. Stephen declared a state of emergency in December over homelessness and a “lack of response” from the province on an out-of-the cold shelter, following the death of Adam Dickerson, 41, who died of a heart attack after being found in medical distress in a Milltown park.

By the end of the week, Green said the community had worked out an immediate, medium and long-term solution, and the drop-in centre opened that Friday, without sleeping accommodations.

“I’m disappointed we took this long to get to where we are, but I’m not disappointed on the change of action to the next phase, which could have been three years down the road, so I’m going to take my win,” MacEachern said, saying he’s hoping for action on a long-term supportive housing solution within “months.”

The Happy Valley Road location, which would have involved seven trailers on a fenced-in site, faced opposition, but residents said they offered help to find alternate sites for a housing facility.

MacEachern said community support has been evolving as the discussion continues.

“Every day we move forward, the community is better understanding the situation we’re in. The community has no choice, we have to do something,” MacEachern said. “All of us, myself included, we’re learning more and more about the situation we’re in and what we need to do … that involves taking care of others for everyone in the community.”

The province said anyone facing homelessness can get information on services by calling 211.