A day in the life: Moncton homeless hub to stay open

Moncton shelter's lease extended another year The city of Moncton is concerned over crime and open drug use around a homeless shelter in the downtown area of the city.

The man in charge of a downtown Moncton, N.B., homeless hub and resource centre is feeling a sense of relief this week.

Dan Brooks, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Southeastern New Brunswick, made a passionate presentation in front of city council on Monday in hopes of keeping the doors open at the Bridge to Home Resource Hub.

Moncton City councillor Shawn Crossman introduced a motion at a council meeting in September calling for the termination of a lease agreement citing public safety as the main reason why.

During Monday’s meeting, Crossman said residents and business owners have expressed concerns about crime and open drug use on the streets and alleys around the facility on St. George Street.

However, council voted against shutting down the centre and voted instead to extend the lease to the province for another 12 months.

“We do recognize that there are challenges in the area,” said Brooks. “But at the same time, we are going into winter. These are human beings that we support and I just feel so much better that we’re in a position to be able to do it in a space that we’re familiar with.”

The city leases the building to the province which provides the funding to the John Howard Society.

The lease extension comes with conditions from the provincial government that include managing storage space, making specific preparations for winter and additional security around the building.

Brooks is very aware people who live in the vicinity of what was a community centre used mainly by seniors may not be as happy with the news as he and his staff are.

“I understand their frustration with the situation. There’s no getting away from the fact that the visibility and the nuances and nuisances that come with some of the work that we’re doing as a result of us being in the neighbourhood certainly has an effect,” said Brooks. “But I ask for their patience. I ask for them to tolerate us the best that they can while we try to figure out what the next steps are.”

A day in the life

Over 40 employees of the John Howard Society receive about 100 visits a day from people who are experiencing homelessness.

Since April, 1,063 unique individuals have been supported.

“There’s so much that we do here. We put a big focus into preventing and diverting people away from homelessness,” said shelter manager Amanda Pearce.

The hub does have 30 beds and a large warming room with 48 chairs, but Pearce said it’s much more than a shelter.

The hub aims to reduce or end chronic homelessness by providing access to essential services like housing support, mental health and addiction resources.

There are also laundry services on site and snacks and coffee is provided several times a day.

Pearce said the staff try to make sure clients know they care when they’re helping them get back on track.

“We are building a lot of relationships with people who really haven’t had anybody invest that time,” said Pearce.

But some days are harder than others.

Drug overdoses and drug poisonings do occur at the centre and on the streets outside.

Pearce said no one has died at Bridge to Home since they opened 11 months ago, but losing people from the community they’ve tried to help is very difficult.

“Those are hard not to take home with me,” said Pearce.

When there is some sort of crisis, the staff will come together as a team afterwards.

“We can talk about what we think we did good. We can talk about what we might do next time. But we make sure we talk until we’re lifting that weight. It’s a heavy weight for one person to carry alone,” said Pearce.

Alyssa Bannister, the hub’s lead prevention and diversion specialist, said they work with community partners to try and find housing for clients.

“The thing that, especially in the prevention and diversion side, is every person that we’re dealing with, it potentially is the worst day of their life,” said Bannister.

Roger Gautreau has been using the services at the hub for almost a month.

They’ve helped him with his income taxes and getting a new ID that he lost.

“I’m 57 and this is the first time in my life I was homeless. I’m just glad that there’s a place like this to come to,” said Gautreau. “I’ve met a lot of good people here. Everybody’s got their problems and it’s not only just drugs. A lot of people are not even on drugs here.”

Bannister said they’ve been helping people who recently lost their homes, the working poor, seniors and even some teenagers who aren’t comfortable staying in their group home.

Like Pearce, working with the vulnerable can be hard for her because at the end of the day, she gets to go home to her quiet life.

“Even the positives come with a lot of emotional strain,” said Bannister. “We carry a little of the weight with them.”

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