Emergency shelter use on the rise in Saint John, but length of stay is down

Saint John's two emergency shelters remained near or at capacity for a good portion of the year, according to a new report on homelessness released by the Saint John Human Development Council.

The council's annual Progress Report on Homelessness found overall use of shelters between 2016 and 2017 is up by nine per cent.

Last year, 263 people stayed at Outflow Ministry's Men's Shelter at 162 Waterloo St., while 93 individuals stayed at the Coverdale Centre for Women at 148 Waterloo St. 

The combined occupancy rate was 86 per cent. That amounts to 356 people who used the shelters, up from 327 in 2016 — a year that saw a dramatic 40 per cent rise in demand in Saint John.

"That seems staggering on paper, but we were able to look at those numbers and say, maybe it makes sense because it was the first full year we had a men's shelter back in the uptown area," said the council's Michael MacKenzie, who compiled this year's report.

"It would have been concerning if we had seen another 40 per cent increase."

The Salvation Army shelter on St. James Street closed in 2014.

In March 2015, the Outflow Men's Shelter relocated from the north end to the uptown, making it more accessible to many people seeking shelter. In 2017, it had an occupancy rate of 103 per cent.

"It's still not ideal, but really it's more of a stabilization back to the kinds of numbers we saw in 2013, before we had this kind of turmoil with the closure of the Salvation Army," said MacKenzie.

Other indicators saw some improvement. There was a slight decrease in the average length of stay per shelter visit. It was five nights, compared to six in 2016, the report said.

"In very basic terms we can say that Saint John saw an increase in the number of people who can use the shelter, but a decrease in the length of time they spent there, and how frequently they returned," MacKenzie said.

'Not all doom and gloom'

The number of public housing units in the Saint John region rose to 1,302, an increase of 143 units over the previous year. And there were 90 additional rent supplements in 2016.

Last year, 56 people found a place to live through housing programs, the report said.

"There are some encouraging numbers, it's not all doom and gloom," MacKenzie said. "There's a lot of good work being done.

"But it's important for us as a community and as a society to stay as informed as possible."

The report points out there are still 1,568 people on the waiting list for affordable housing in the Saint John region, versus 1,248 last year.

"We all have to take ownership and responsibility of it and push for policy change at a local, provincial and federal level," MacKenzie said.

Saint John had different findings from a report released Monday by the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee.

It found fewer homeless people used the two shelters in Moncton in the past year, but they are staying longer, and returning more often.

Darcy Cormier, a community development co-ordinator for the committee, said the people who are still using shelters are having a "harder time moving on."

According to that report, the average stay at a shelter increased from 6.07 days in 2016 to 8.48 days in 2017.

Cormier said 37 new subsidized housing units have been added in Moncton through New Brunswick Housing, but it is still not enough to meet the need.