No plan for St. Stephen’s homeless as warming centre closes doors

By Wednesday, the warming centre in St. Stephen, N.B., will be no more, with nothing ready to replace its services.

Neighbourhood Works, who operate the facility, did not respond to an interview request. A statement put out late last week by its working group says the impending closure will only “exacerbate the many challenges faced by those experiencing homelessness.”

It was always the plan for the centre to cease operations at the end of April, but the reason is unclear. The group first stepped up to offer a warming centre at their facility after a state of emergency in early December following the death of 41-year-old Adam Dickerson, who was found in need of urgent medical care at a local park before passing away. Dickerson had been homeless for several years.

The state of emergency was terminated by the provincial government within 48 hours, with an understanding the two levels of government would work together to build a permanent shelter.

In February the centre added sleeping accommodations to its list of services for the towns homeless.

St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern is thankful for the organization stepping up for the town when they needed it most.

“The Neighbourhood Works and all the volunteers who work with Neighbourhood Works, it was amazing to see them come to fruition and help us through that challenging time,” MacEachern says. “They stepped up and put their regular operations on pause and took on this challenge for us and got us through this winter.”

What comes next for the town’s homeless is unknown as there is no centre for them to go, and past encampment sites have been boarded up.

The mayor met with the province late Monday afternoon, where he was hopeful to get an update for plans on a more permanent shelter, as the municipality does not have the resources to take the next steps without assistance.

“We don’t have the funds, we don’t have the toolbox of people to do this work, or the expertise and all those things,” MacEachern points out. “It’s not in our wheelhouse at all. We just need to support the province in this challenge that we have.”

In a statement sent to CTV Atlantic, the Department of Social Development says it is “committed to supporting both transitional and public housing options for the community,” but did not provide a timeline or any details on when next steps will be taken.

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