Moncton hub director 'blindsided' over motion to terminate lease

Citing public safety as the number one priority, a motion was introduced Monday at Moncton City Council calling for the termination of a lease agreement at a downtown homeless shelter and resource centre.

Councillor Shawn Crossman introduced the motion, saying residents and business owners in proximity of the Bridge to Home Hub deserve to feel safe.

“Open air drug use, street disorder, and crime has unfortunately become a normality throughout the city, but in particular the neighbourhood in proximity to 473 St. George Street thereby transforming the community's initial compassion to frustration, fear and even occasional anger,” said Crossman on Monday.

Crossman is motioning for council to terminate the lease agreement and return it back to its original function, which was a community centre.

The hub is funded by the province and run by the John Howard Society of Southeastern New Brunswick.

Executive director Dan Brooks said he’s disappointed Crossman didn’t give him any prior notice and wishes he had stopped in first to see the work they’re doing.

“Well, you know, I was blindsided by it, really. I was really disappointed to get this information through the news media and through my colleagues,” said Brooks. “There’s nothing that’s ever been presented to me previously. In fact, I always thought our relationship with the city staff was really good.”

Brooks said he’s now in damage control with 45 hub employees who fear they may lose their jobs.

The lease at the Bridge to Home Hub started last November.

Brooks said the centre helps the homeless community in a number of ways.

It was a 60-bed shelter during the winter with room for another 50 or 60 in the warming centre.

It’s also a resource centre for people who may be entering homelessness for the first time.

“We’ve seen that number increase dramatically,” said Brooks.

CTV News reached out to Crossman for an interview on Thursday, but did not hear back from the councillor.

The hub is located in Councillor Daniel Bourgeois’ ward and he seconded Crossman’s motion on Monday night.

“It’s a very complex topic, but I think it is time for council to take a sober second look at the whole issue of homelessness and crime,” said Bourgeois.

The other side of the motion for Bourgeois is to return the hub back to what it was a few years ago: the Moncton Lions Seniors Centre.

The centre was shifted into a homeless shelter two years ago and was run by the Humanity Project before the John Howard Society took over last fall.

“It doesn’t seem to be the solution we thought it would be and the seniors keep clamoring to get the centre back,” said Bourgeois.

Brooks said many service providers who work with the homeless use the hub as central point of contact to be able reach their clients.

Since the start of April, Brooks said 23,000 service records were created for people who came in for a service-related visit.

“Of those, 1,063 were unique individuals,” said Brooks. “That’s a lot of activity.”

The number of visits is giving Brooks and his staff a better idea of what their needs are.

“And it’s allowing the province and other stakeholders to be able to identify what the next steps are to be able to solve this issue,” said Brooks.

Bourgeois said the motion is by no means a criticism of the John Howard Society and their project.

“It’s more to do with the other side of the coin which is the centre itself being a seniors centre originally and we excepted to lease it to the province thinking that it might be a couple of years,” said Bourgeois. “The intent of the motion is to say, ‘Can we ask the province basically to move?’ There will be another facility I’m sure.”

As far as Brooks is concerned, it’s business as usual at the hub until he hears differently.

“It absolutely is,” he said.

The motion will be deliberated at the next public session of council in October. 

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