'We’re still human': Collaborative effort needed to combat Maritime homelessness

For the past 17 years, Marc Leger and his brother Ben have owned a small business on St. George Street in downtown Moncton, N.B.

Notre Dame de Parkton and the Laundromat Espresso Bar are just steps away from a handful of shelters and centres that provide services for the city's most vulnerable population.

Leger said they do their best to help people in need, but it isn’t always easy.

“We're still human here. We try to have an interaction with them, try to help out as much as we can, but at the same time we're trying to run businesses in all of this, so it's kind of a hard go," said Leger.

Leger said they will sometimes let the homeless population in his establishments because they feel safe inside, but the number of people on the street in the area keeps growing and growing.

"Well it's hard to promote, ‘Come down to downtown Moncton,’ anymore. When you see on social (media)… when people start raving about the homeless situation saying how much St. George is a dump,” said Leger. “These people aren't the worst. They're human.”

Leger doesn't think there are enough services available for homeless people and wishes there was some sort of “gathering of the minds” between all tiers of government to work on the issues facing small business owners like himself.

In a news release sent last week, Downtowns Atlantic Canada said the social challenges facing the region's main streets are detrimental to local businesses like Leger’s and the overall wellbeing of the region’s communities.

The organization is calling on all three levels of government to approach the issues with a proactive and coordinated approach.

Downtowns Atlantic Canada president and Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission CEO Tim Rissesco said over the last three or four years the number of people experiencing homelessness in the area has increased drastically.

“Homelessness and housing, it's a concern for everybody in Atlantic Canada, particularly in our downtowns and on our main streets," said Rissesco. “I’m hearing a lot of empathy from our shopkeepers. Also a lot of frustration as there doesn't seem to be any plan to assist the people in need.”

With a provincial election in New Brunswick and municipal elections in Nova Scotia looming, Rissesco believes it's vital for voters to engage with those running for office.

“I'd like to see everybody ask their candidates, ‘What plans do you have to assist the people that are homeless in our communities and what can you do to make our town, our city, our province more affordable for everybody?’” said Rissesco.

Downtowns Atlantic Canada is calling for reassessment and co-ordinated collective action from government-run organizations that provide services to the homeless.

“We have to work more collaboratively as communities, drawing on the ability of our three levels of government to work together with agencies and organizations – but also with you, the general public – to more effectively problem-solve and develop innovative approaches to these problems,” stated last week’s news release.

Patrick Richard is a director with Downtowns Atlantic Canada and the executive director of Downtown Moncton Centre-ville.

He thinks an Atlantic Canadian approach to affordable housing, mental health and the opioid crisis would work best.

“We're really not big enough to divide and conquer,” said Richard. “I think we need to work together.”

Like Rissesco, Richard is hearing from frustrated downtown business owners.

“Our businesses are dealing with people stealing, people doing damage to their building, they're breaking windows, they're doing graffiti, they're sleeping in the doorways. So we need a solution to all those issues,” said Richard.

The release from Downtowns Atlantic Canada mentioned initiatives in all four provinces that have had success:

• A community safety services unit was created a year ago in Fredericton that focuses on graffiti, vandalism, loitering and encampments.
• Also in Fredericton, Twelve Neighbours is providing 99 affordable housing units.
• Moncton’s Rising Tide is also providing affordable housing, but at a higher density.
• Outflow Ministry in Saint John will soon provide six convalescent care beds that are designed to provide a safe environment for patients experiencing homelessness.
• The Halifax Regional Municipality and Business Improvement Districts in Downtown Halifax, Downtown Dartmouth, Spring Garden, and the North End of Halifax employ the Navigators initiative that provides support for those without a home.
• Two street workers in Newfoundland and Labrador are behind Thrive St. John’s, which is addressing street issues in the downtown business district.
• The Community Outreach Centre in Charlottetown continues to provide services to Prince Edward Island’s homeless.

"There are some really good initiatives happening all over. We're not doing it in a coordinated approach and we're not doing enough of it," said Richard.