A shelter for homeless youth in Saint John closed its doors Friday after unsuccessfully trying to reach a funding agreement with the New Brunswick government.
About a year ago, Safe Harbour was hailed a breakthrough facility that plugged a huge gap in services for homeless young people.
"We have been forced into this position because of our financial situation and we have closed the doors today," said board of directors member Kit Hickey on Friday.
The 10-bed shelter has been at capacity since it opened, often with a waiting list.
"This is essential,” said Hickey. “The majority of the referrals came from the Department of Social Development, so obviously the services are not here in our community."
The board of directors is asking for about $200,000 a year in operational funding from the provincial government.
Organizers say they are confident Safe Harbour is not closed permanently despite a lack of indication from the provincial government of changing its position.
Premier Brian Gallant was speaking to a youth summit in another part of Saint John Friday afternoon. His speech did not mention the closing youth shelter and he did not speak to reporters after his opening remarks to the gathering.
The case for a shelter was based on annual counts of homeless youth dating back almost a decade.
"Forty-five to 60 kids who were staying in unsafe places and didn't have a safe, affordable place to start their journey, those numbers have been consistent throughout," said Randy Hatfield of the Saint John Human Development Council.
The board says for now, alternate arrangements have been made for most of the young people who were calling the shelter home.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
