Moncton businesses search for solutions to growing homeless population
There has been growing concern over the rising homeless population in the Greater Moncton Area, prompting the local chamber of commerce to create a task force to look into the problem.
“There needs to be some solution, and it needs to be now,” says Nasika Breau, owner of Apple Art Gallery in downtown Moncton.
Breau says the homeless population has been growing in the downtown area, however, she says there has yet to be an appropriate solution.
“There’s a lot of work that we have to do that the clients don’t see to protect them, to protect us, and our staff,” says Breau. “Whether its needles, or violent outbursts, or vandalism, or theft, and these are things that growing more and more.”
Breau says it’s a sensitive subject in the city, but there needs to be a better way to help, including more affordable housing.
The Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce is trying to find a solution to the problem by proposing a task force to the city.
“We thought, lets get a taskforce with the three levels of government, business communities involved, social sectors involved, and do a scan of what’s been done so far, and what still needs to be done,” says John Wishart, Executive Director of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce.
Wishart says the key for the group is to come up with short term solutions that they can start within the next few months, addressing what has been an ongoing problem for many years.
“It’s glaringly obvious that we have a very big addiction problem” says Rebecca McCabe, who has worked for a decade as a barista at a downtown Moncton café. “I just want everyone to have access to the help that they need, and I know they don’t right now, so that’s what I hope for.”
“All that adds up to a solution that’s increasingly frustrating, and we just want to try and create some solutions before it gets worse,” say Wishart.
The Chamber of Commerce hopes the task force will be able to announce some initiatives by early August, in order to move forward on this growing issue.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.