New Brunswick’s minister of social development said Moncton now has three homeless shelters – Harvest House, House of Nazareth and a recently opened one on Mark Avenue.

Dorothy Shephard said a count of the homeless in the city by her team was done during the snowstorm Wednesday morning.

“We had 222 people in the three shelters and in the temporary shelter at St George’s Church. We have a capacity of 219 people in our three formal shelters.”

In November, street-level outreach workers told city council that there were more than 500 people living rough in the community.

Meantime, Shephard now refers to the new emergency shelter at the Moncton Lions Community Centre on St. George Street as an overflow site.

“We don’t need to have overcapacity at this location. It will be used to augment the services that we have in our other three shelters but following the same system.”

She added heated tents will no longer be required since that facility is set to open Monday night and an operator will be announced soon.

The City of Moncton also provided an update to the media on Thursday about the emergency out-of-the-cold shelter.

Spokesperson Isabelle LeBlanc clarified the structure of the shelter noting how the City of Moncton is entering into an agreement with an operator to lease the facility and the Province of New Brunswick is entering into an agreement with an operator to run the shelter.

“A temporary tent was set up since we didn’t know if the facility would be ready in time. Converting from a seniors centre to an emergency shelter requires some work. We also needed to clear all furniture, materials, etc. from the centre before being able to make modifications. The tent will remain until there is no need,” stated LeBlanc.

During its new use, the building can accommodate up to 125 people under evaluation by the fire marshal.

“As for the seniors, we have removed their belongings (furniture, materials, etc.) from the Lions Centre and are finalizing an agreement with a new temporary location. Programming activities will begin as of January 15,” said LeBlanc.

The City of Moncton added further details will be announced when activities are set to begin.