At least 200 people are currently living rough in Moncton on top of another 160 who are utilizing shelters.
Senior Director of Outreach Services at YMCA Reconnect Trevor Goodwin says there are growing concerns over what the homeless will do during the winter months.
A proposal was submitted to the provincial government for an out-of-the-cold shelter again this year with a deadline of September 15th, “We haven’t heard anything as of yet. That still leaves a couple of days. We hope to hear from the province but if we don’t hear by that deadline, we are not going to be responsible for operating an out-of-the-cold shelter this winter.”
In past, the City has provided the old fire station on Assomption Boulevard, but Goodwin says it isn’t conducive to what they need with the number of people on the streets in our city currently, “We barely survived last winter in that space. It’s simply just a garage, and the washroom facilities aren’t adequate. We can’t have cots so people are reduced to sleeping on camping mats and yoga mats on the ground, and it can only accommodate 50 individuals. We turned away 25 people a night last winter. That number has tripled this winter. So we need a space that can hold at least 100 if not more.”
St. George’s Anglican Church was also used last year temporarily, but Goodwin says it isn’t an option either, “That space is too small, smaller than the fire hall. There’s just the overall strain on the volunteers and on the congregations. We created the operation plan for this year, which would be safe, and would have fully trained staff and the resources available. We’re just waiting on the province to respond and say yes or no.”
Goodwin says they still hope that the province steps up, “Our current shelter system cannot handle the number of individuals that we have right now. We have way more outside than inside, and it’s just gonna get colder.”
He adds at least 22 clients who were living on the street or in shelters have died this year, but he believes that number may actually be much higher.
“I try to be as optimistic as I can but with the growing number of deaths and the growing number of individuals who are being forced to touch upon the homelessness sector for a myriad of reasons I am quite concerned about this winter,” Goodwin says.
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