N.B. government's homeless numbers a fall short of outreach worker's estimate

Just how many homeless people are there in the Greater Moncton area right now?

It depends on who you ask.

At an affordable housing announcement in Moncton, N.B., Friday, provincial Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard said 222 people used one of the city's four shelters on a stormy night late last month.

“We know there are still others living rough. We can't force anyone to come to a shelter. I think we're in that 220 potentially, maybe a little higher. But at the same time we're working with our outreach workers every single day to ensure we're trying to get to anyone who is living rough,” said Shephard.

In November, Trevor Goodwin of the Greater Moncton YMCA told Moncton City Council over 500 people were living on the streets.

On Friday, Goodwin said Minister Shephard is referring to the 220 individuals on the YMCA's list of names which has not been updated since November and those numbers are only for individuals who’ve consented to being tracked.

"Recent data indicates 300 plus currently accessing shelters in Moncton and that does not account for individuals still sleeping outside in various capacities," said Goodwin in an email.

Shediac Bay-Dieppe Liberal MLA and Social Development critic Robert Gauvin agrees with the local outreach worker.

“The people who work in that field seem to think it's closer to 500 than 200. I tend to believe these guys because they have no reason to fudge the numbers and they know because they're on the ground,” said Gauvin.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said the city and the province are in agreement on the number of homeless people in Moncton.

Friday's funding announcement and the opening of the new cold shelter on St. George Street have made Arnold more hopeful about the situation than she's been in some time.

“It's been a really hard two to three years. It's been a slog but we've worked really hard from an advocacy perspective and I believe that the right players are around the table right now to effect the positive changes that we desperately need in our community,” said Arnold.

Two shopping carts filled with personal belongings sit outside the Ensemble harm reduction centre in Moncton, N.B., on Jan. 12, 2023. (Derek Haggett/CTV)

Gauvin said the state of homelessness and affordable housing in the city is bleak right now.

“You go downtown and you see, the last two years it’s just exploded. The price of having an apartment or buying a house, even the people who work can’t afford it. So, it’s going to get worse and worse if we don’t do anything,” said Gauvin.

CTV News spoke to a handful of homeless people this week who said the opening of the new shelter has been beneficial, but issues like housing and addiction remain major issues.

Mark Babin called the situation pretty dire.

“I think it has a lot to do with the drugs to tell you the truth. The drugs have taken a hold of Moncton. It's just unreal,” said Babin.

Stitch MacLeod said most homeless people are good people.

“They're not bad people. Just having a tough time in life. That's about it,” said MacLeod.

There are currently between 70 and 80 people staying at the new temporary shelter every night.