‘I do fear the worst’: Mayor calls for relocation of drop-in facility in Bridgewater, N.S.

The mayor of Bridgewater, N.S., is calling for a downtown drop-in centre to close or move after several complaints.

The mayor of Bridgewater, N.S., is calling for the relocation of the John Howard Society facility on King Street over safety concerns.

“The John Howard Society’s operational mandate from coast to coast is to deal with people who have been incarcerated, post-incarceration so they can be productive members of society,” says Mayor David Mitchell.

“That’s their operation and they have done that successfully for decades, so this is new for them. They have some housing units above transition housing. The transition housing, we believe, was to help people in their system already.”

The facility, which has been in Bridgewater since May 2024, has evolved from what the town was told it would originally be.

“We were originally told that it was going to be a transition house for men transitioning themselves from incarceration to get back into society, some daytime treatment, daytime showers, to get to job interviews, that stuff,” says Deputy Police Chief Danny MacPhee.

Police say they have been called to the site and neighbouring park more than 160 times. MacPhee says there are often called for addiction problems.

“Our biggest call for service would be that area and people that use that site. That’s not including the thefts at other businesses, local businesses, that’s not including bothering a client at neighbouring businesses, it’s hard to track all those,” MacPhee says.

MacPhee says they get calls for assaults and weapons, and they even had a suspicious death linked to the area.

“They get into the street, get into the park, get into local businesses, have issues with other pedestrians and really that’s when we get called and we start getting involved. It’s a lot of open drug use, open alcohol use and all the problems that go along with that,” says MacPhee.

Mitchell says businesses around the site have seen a dramatic increase in theft and a decrease in sales. The downtown core used to be busy, but Mitchell says people avoid the area.

“And then we have the residents who are feeling unsafe in the area and people – women and girls – being catcalled, so they don’t feel comfortable walking down there,” says Mitchell.

“Since day one we have been engaging with the John Howard society to make changes and have seen little to no progress.”

Mitchell and Bridgewater police say people from outside of the town and the province are coming to the facility to use the services.

“As a town we are not equipped to deal with the influx of people coming from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, everywhere to a facility that does not offer the supports they think they are going to get,” he says.

The John Howard Society did not make anyone available for an interview Wednesday.

In a Sept. 19 Facebook post, the society acknowledged the community’s concerns, saying their mission is to help individuals facing barriers to help them reclaim their lives.

“Cedar Place offers essential daytime services from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to individuals experiencing homelessness. Our goal is to create a safer community by providing support, not to contribute to the issues that concern you,” says the post.

The organization says it offers shower and laundry services, clean clothing, coordinated medical and vaccination clinics, addiction and mental health support, and meals.

The mayor says a facility of this kind is needed but feels this one needs to be closed.

“It is not a viable location and it is not a viable operator,” Mitchell says. “We cannot have it any other way. It needs to close and open somewhere else and someone else must operate it.”

Mitchell says the municipality has revoked the facility’s property tax expansion they normally give to non-profits. They have also changed the zoning to prevent further expansion of the facility.

A meeting was held with the community Monday, and the mayor says he has also met with the Department of Justice staff and engaged with the province in hopes of change.

“I worry if the situation does not get corrected soon that people will take matters into their own hands,” Mitchell says.

“I am trying to reassure people that we are working with multiple departments in the province. We have had good conversations with them, so I don’t want to make it seem like they are not progressing. They are doing some of their own due diligence so work does have to be done in the background before decisions are made. But if this continues on too long, I do fear the worst, including another potential death.”

For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page