Homelessness rate exceeds 400 people in Moncton

Meeting held for Moncton's homeless A meeting was held in a church in downtown Moncton Monday afternoon to discuss winter plans for the city's homeless. Derek Haggett reports.

Some alarming numbers about the City of Moncton's homeless population were announced today during a meeting at a downtown church.

Trevor Goodwin, the senior director of outreach services at the YMCA of Greater Moncton, said there has been twenty-two deaths so far this year -- most by drug overdose.

Over 400 people do not have a permanent place to live and there are more than 50 tent sites spread across the city.

"There's no other way to say it than that it is grim," said Goodwin. "It has grown in the last year exponentially."

Goodwin said there are about 100 people staying at the House of Nazareth and another 60 at Harvest House, but well over 200 people are living outside including teenagers and a man and a woman in their late 70s.

"We have individuals sleeping in cars, we have seniors sleeping in tents. It's a lot graver then I think people realize, and it's quick for people to associate it with just the individuals that are struggling on the street with addiction or mental health and not taking into consideration it's also people who lost their job or their rent has gone up and they can't afford that," said Goodwin.

One Moncton man experiencing homelessness said he's seen a lot of death lately. Mickey Maguire spoke Sunday about losing a number of friends in recent months.

"It goes with everything that goes hand-in-hand with being homeless. Everywhere from addiction to depression. I've lost a lot of people," said Maguire.

Things could get even worse. There's currently no out-of-the-cold shelter for the people who need it when the temperature drops.

Two temporary shelters, one at an old fire hall and the basement of St. George's Anglican Church, where Monday's meeting was held, will not be used again this winter.

Father Chris VanBuskirk and staff turned the church into an emergency warming centre last winter where dozens of people slept on the floor.

"The numbers last year actually went up as high as 55, even 60 [people]. The first night was about a dozen and then it quickly went up to the 55 range. We will do what we can do, but we cannot provide an overnight emergency shelter this winter," said VanBuskirk.

Goodwin was approached by the province to come up with a formal operational plan for a new out-of-the-cold shelter this year. He submitted a proposal with a deadline of Sept. 15, but has yet to hear anything from the provincial government.