New emergency shelter set to open in downtown Fredericton

A new emergency shelter in downtown Fredericton will open soon in a location on Brunswick Street, according to the provincial government. 

The John Howard Society of Fredericton purchased the building at 332 Brunswick St. and say it will open after some minor renovations. 

Social Development Minister Dorothy Shephard said in a news release that the emergency shelter will be operated by volunteers and staff from the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre. 

The nearby St. Paul's United Church will offer a warming centre until the shelter is open.

Advocates have said Fredericton has been facing a homeless crisis since November of last year.

John Barrow, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Fredericton, said they want the shelter to be more than a "just a stop-gap solution to homelessness."

Eventually, he said the plan is to develop the property into additional affordable housing units.

"But until that time, we are excited to provide space from which the Downtown Community Health Centre can operate the out-of-the-cold shelter."

Joan Kingston, the chair of the Fredericton Community Action Group on Homelessness, said the emergency shelter is a necessity. 

"But we also want to make sure while we're doing the out-of-the-cold shelter we're also engaging with people who are chronically homeless and connecting them with the supports in the city, with the goal of having them housed in their own place." 

Downtown location sought

The Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre is a partnership between the University of New Brunswick and Horizon Health Network. The university's faculty of nursing helps operate the shelter.

The former Anglican Church bishop's house on Brunswick Street was used last year as a shelter.

When the group applied for an extension of the funding and zoning last spring, the city's planning advisory committee indicated it didn't want the house used again this year.

Kingston said they had hoped an emergency shelter would be located downtown to help connect users of the shelter with other services they might need.

She said the building will help support Fredericton's most vulnerable population.

"Really what we're talking about very often are people who have challenges [with] mental health and addictions. They are the people that often find themselves to be chronically homeless."

Kingston said the shelter will be open for the cold months of the year for certain, and the other needs will be assessed.

"This is a long-term issue, and that's what I want people to think about. We need to be providing the right type of housing for people. 

An out-of-the-cold shelter is one thing, but people need housing with the right supports." 

Permanent housing has been found for 49 people who had previously been homeless or living in a shelter.

"That is progress, but there remains plenty of work to do," Shephard said.

Warren Maddox, executive director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters Inc., said the group has had to turn people away, so the emergency shelter is good news.

"We were turning guys away once or twice a week, which is hard, it's really hard," he said. "We're housing between 38 and 40 people any given night, so we're not slacking it."