A temporary closure of a new homeless shelter in Saint John has now stretched into four months, with still no target date for reopening.
Safe Harbour, a shelter for homeless youth, closed its 10-bed facility in January after the board of directors and the province failed to reach an agreement on operational funding for the centre.
"These are kids are in a desperate situation, and we really need to have resources available to them," said Michael MacKenzie of the Saint John Human Development Council.
MacKenzie has surveyed the homeless population in port city. He says homeless teenagers typically end up moving from one place to another.
"It's an incredible level of instability to be couch surfing, and particularly for youth who need really a stable home," said MacKenzie.
The facility opened with much fanfare, being described as the finest youth shelter in Eastern Canada, and one that could get young people off the street.
"It was a great resource for the community – not just for Saint John police but for everybody," said Sgt. David Hartley-Brown of Saint John Regional Police. "When you have a lot of youth who are at risk at times and some may be transient from one community to another, having a safe and nurturing environment for them to go to is fantastic."
Despite a new program to combat homelessness being unveiled in Saint John on Friday, New Brunswick Government Services Minister Ed Doherty says Safe Harbour has not been forgotten.
"(Thursday), I spoke about this with the minister Cathy Rogers and she tells me that negotiations are coming along very, very nicely,” said Doherty. “Hopefully we'll be able to make an announcement in the near future."
The board of directors says it is concerned with the amount of time it is taking to reopen the shelter. But so far, no one is suggesting how much longer Safe Harbour will be closed.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Mike Cameron.
