The Salvus Clinic in Moncton is a community health centre that provides primary health care, housing support, and social service navigation to individuals who experience barriers to traditional health care, who are experiencing poverty or are experiencing homelessness.
The Church Street Clinic received an eviction notice at the end of January and immediately began searching for a place to relocate to, but they have been unsuccessful so far.
They officially have to be out of the Clinic by October 31st.
Executive Director Melissa Baxter says there are certain things they are looking for in a new home, including accessibility for those with physical needs, in the downtown area, and accessible via transportation.
“In an ideal world, with the growth that we have been experiencing over the past several years, we would like a space that is 6500 square feet. But at this point, we have nowhere to go, so we would take a much smaller location,” Baxter adds.
The clinic serves around 4200 individuals each year and Baxter feels their closure will have an impact on the emergency healthcare services system.
“We have probably gone and visited 10 to 15 locations throughout Moncton, and we’ve had three offers to lease rejected by landlords,” Baxter says.
She adds that no explanation was given as to why they were rejected, “I can only wager a guess. There’s certainly a stigmatizing attitude. There’s certainly a not in my backyard general stereotype that is occurring. However, we’re a medical clinic and we provide service to individuals experiencing homelessness. But we also provide service to individuals who are housed. We provide services to infants for immunization. We do a whole host of services for individuals and it’s a much-needed health service. So it’s just it’s shocking that we haven’t been able to find a place.”
The current plan is to move all of the furniture, exam beds and medical equipment into a storage facility.
“When we received the eviction notice, I thought this would be an opportunity to find a space and expand on our services. In no way did I think we would be at this point without a place to rent,” Baxter states.
If you have a space that might suit the Clinic, you can reach out at 506-384-7283 or email info@salvusclinic.com
