Fourth homeless shelter set to open in Moncton

MONCTON -

The emergency out-of-the-cold shelter in Moncton is set to open the evening of Dec. 19, ahead of schedule. However, officials say other shelters should be utilized first.

The city of Moncton declined an interview on Thursday, instead releasing a statement on the shelter set to open at the Moncton Lions Community Centre.

“The shelter will be a place for those who do not have a place at other local shelters (House of Nazareth, Harvest House and Mark Avenue).”

On Thursday, New Brunswick’s Minister of Social Development Dorothy Shephard said the shelter will be open daily and supported until it’s not needed anymore. But, she added, “We’re going to keep it as small as possible.”

“We want to use the formal spaces that we have,” said Shephard. “We’re adding this new space so that we can use it as we need it. There will be some capacity there -- we’re not saying that there’s going to be a maximum capacity, we’re going to meet the need we need to house.”

The city says the building can accommodate up to 125 people under its new use, but the city is “not involved in the number of guests the operator will be able to accommodate.”

The move comes in the wake of new numbers from the province, claiming the three permanent shelters in Moncton are enough to fill the need.

“At 4 a.m. Wednesday, staff took a count at all of the shelter spaces that were operational at the time. That includes are three formal shelters and the temporary shelter that St. George’s Church was utilizing,” Shephard said. “As those numbers came in, we had a total of 222 that were being sheltered that evening and that morning, and we have a formal bed space of 219,” said Shephard.

When asked if local agencies were consulted, Minister Shephard said the province isn’t doing anything on its own. However, back in November, outreach workers in the city said there were over 550 individuals living on the street.

Additionally, at the end of November, city officials said temporary heated tents would be set up until the community centre was able to officially open. There is currently one tent outside.

“Converting from a seniors’ centre to an emergency shelter requires some work and a change of use of the building,” said the city in a statement. “We also needed to clear all furniture, materials, etc. from the seniors’ centre before being able to make modifications. The tent will remain until there is no need.”

However, Minister Shephard says it is her understanding that the tents will not need to be used with the shelter now opening on Monday.

As of Thursday night, it still hasn’t been announced who is going to be in charge of operating the emergency shelter, but that information is expected to be made public in the coming days, according to Minister Shephard.