Encampment in west end Moncton (91.9 The Bend File Photo)

As the weather turns colder, more than 500 people are currently living rough in the Moncton area according to YMCA ReConnect – and the city’s existing shelters are nearly full.

During a regular meeting on Monday, outreach director Trevor Goodwin told city council that a wide array of people are struggling right now.

“It is seniors… it is youth… it is working poor individuals who have lost a job and missed a paycheque and are sleeping in their cars because the cost of living is going up, rents are going up – and there is zero protection,” Goodwin noted.

Council was once again urged to find space in the city for a warming shelter this winter.

Goodwin feared people are going to freeze to death if a space is not found.

Mayor Dawn Arnold called this a crisis situation and she urged the province to provide some help while she cited the recently announced larger-than-expected provincial budget surplus of $774 million.

Father Chris Van Buskirk of St. George’s Anglican Church also addressed council about homelessness and said this could be a grim winter season.

“How will we deal with the moral injuries and traumatic injuries incurred by members of the general public when they discover frozen bodies this winter?” questioned Van Buskirk.

Arnold assured the advocates of homelessness that council will come through and step up.

She added recent meetings with the deputy minister of Social Development indicated the province is taking the matter seriously and the department was going to use data and evidence to provide the necessary services for the community.