Location for Saint John’s new winter shelter 'couldn’t be better,' says homeless advocacy group

An advocacy group that helps homeless people in Saint John is applauding the new location for an “out-of-the-cold” winter shelter.

The 60-bed centre will open its doors by “early winter” at 94 Rothesay Ave.

“This is a great location, couldn’t be better actually,” says Melanie Vautour, executive director of Fresh Start Services, in an interview. “It’s within walking distance to existing services in uptown Saint John.

“It’s a perfect location, not even a 10 minute walk.”

The building, which was last used as an auto supply shop, will feature showers and snacks along with space for people to get warm.

“It’s a significant size so people have a bit of room to spread, they’re not so crouched together,” says Vautour. “It also has a little bit of community space as well, where people can sit at tables, do activities, maybe watch some TV. So really, just a great location overall.”

The “out-of-the-cold” centre will be open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. and is meant to compliment the city’s two permanent shelters: Outflow and Coverdale, as well as the Outflow Foundation Centre which is open until 2 a.m. in Waterloo Village.

Past locations for winter shelters in the city have included the Hilton Belyea Arena on the city's west side, and 344 Somerset St. in the city’s north end.

Saint John mayor Donna Reardon says it took several months of work between the city and provincial government to secure a spot that would work for both clients and the surrounding area.

“We’ve been doing this for a few years now, and none of the locations that we’ve had have been locations that we wanted to go back to for a second time,” says Reardon, in an interview. “So hopefully this will work a little bit better.”

Reardon says an advantage to maintaining a winter shelter in one spot season-to-season could encourage further investment from both the provincial and federal governments.

No firm timeline has been provided for when the shelter will open. Social Development Minister Cindy Miles was not made available for an interview on Monday.

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