New Brunswick homelessness task force ‘excellent news’ for affordable housing advocate

An affordable housing advocate is encouraged by New Brunswick’s new task force on homelessness.

A Moncton, N.B., man who has spent years trying to feed and house the city’s most vulnerable is encouraged by Tuesday’s announcement of a provincial task force on homelessness.

“I think it’s excellent news. I think it’s been a while coming,” said Dale Hicks, board president of the not-for-profit organization Rising Tide Community Initiatives.

Hicks said a ministerial task force that will address homelessness in the province is a positive sign for municipalities, non-profits working in the field, businesses and residents.

“We’ve used the analogy that we’re putting band-aids on bullet holes, and we’ve long been waiting for the provincial government to kind of say, ‘Well, let’s take the bull by the horns here.’ We’re wrestling with the bull but someone has to take it by the horns,” said Hicks. “I think this is the best news we’ve had for a while and now they have the bull, so they have to do something with it.”

David Hickey, minister responsible for the New Brunswick Housing Corporation and chair of the task force, said Tuesday chronic homelessness in the province has increased by 210 per cent over the past four years.

Close to 1,000 people in New Brunswick experienced chronic homelessness in the month of August, including 511 in Moncton alone.

Harvest House Atlantic Executive Director Leon Baker said his organization is on the front lines, providing emergency shelter, supportive housing, addiction recovery and meals amongst many other supports.

“We see the human impact daily,” said Baker in an email to CTV News. “Homelessness is not just a downtown issue - it’s a humanitarian crisis with solutions that have worked elsewhere. If we invest in housing first, wrap-around supports, and prevention, we can restore dignity for people on the street and stability for our neighbourhoods.”

Hickey said the newly-formed group will coordinate efforts with multiple departments, including housing, justice and public safety, social development, local government and mental health and addictions.

Work will begin immediately with the intention of speeding up decision-making to “get more done faster,” said Hickey.

During Tuesday’s announcement in Shediac, N.B., Hickey also said there were roughly 13,000 people on the waitlist for affordable housing.

Hicks was asked how the province can decrease that number.

“You’re going to have to build,” said Hicks. “We’re always searching for land at Rising Tide to build affordable housing in, and land is the starting point, and then there has to be some funding behind that. It’s build baby, build, but it’s a lot easier said than done.”

The executive director of Ensemble Greater Moncton, the province’s only overdose prevention site, was also pleased to hear about the task force.

“It is wonderful to see the government taking such a proactive and comprehensive approach in an effort to help address such an important issue,” said Scott Phipps in an email to CTV News.

Hickey said the task force’s goal is to cut homelessness by 40 per cent by 2029.

“That’s a pretty aggressive approach,” said Hicks. “Minister Hickey’s got the mindsight like talk is cheap and we’ve got to do something, we’ve got to show results, so I’m encouraged by this group and with him leading it I think I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t see something positive come out of this.”

The task force’s first actions will be to include a provincial homelessness strategy establishing an advisory council of community partners and non-profit service providers.

No one has reached out to Hicks yet, but he said he would be willing to be part of an advisory board if asked.

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