Hotels instead of homes: N.L. spending millions on emergency shelter

Sheltered, a CBC Investigates series, examines the housing crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador — telling the stories of the people living it, while scrutinizing the policies and politics behind it.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Newfoundland and Labrador government regularly relied on a handful of private for-profit shelters and a single hotel to house people in emergency circumstances.

The money was spent in St. John's. 

Since then, the number of hotels, bed and breakfasts and private shelters used by the province has exploded, and now touches nearly every corner in the province, from main cities to tiny towns, according to data obtained through access-to-information requests.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corp. spent more than $5.2 million in one year for 86 entities providing emergency accommodations. Data shows some individuals have stayed as long as 320 days straight — not including people who left a shelter only to return shortly after. The corporation initially provided a figure of over $5.8 million, which erroneously included a non-profit shelter in the total. 

• Over $1.4M spent on hotel as Labrador town debates new shelter

The figure does not include the cost to house Ukrainian newcomers, many of whom have been housed in hotels as they look for permanent accommodations. 

For Quenton Rumbolt, 43, his stay at Hotel Corner Brook has nearly reached the four-month mark — and counting.

He says rental prices are high and vacant units are rare in Corner Brook. Moving out of the area isn't an option, he said, as his four-year-old son lives nearby. 

"This was the only option I could take," Rumbolt said in an interview this week.

"It's not easy. You don't have any cooked meals. We get $75 a week for groceries, which doesn't last a week."

'It's taking its toll'

Rumbolt said he has never been unhoused before and gets $62 every two weeks from the government. 

"It's taking its toll. I rarely get to see my son. He's supposed to have shared custody and I'm not having him spend time with me in the hotel. It's not suitable."

Rumbolt says he was told by an official with the housing corporation he would be in a government-owned unit by the end of the month.

However, that hasn't happened yet, and there is no end in sight.

His room doesn't have a kitchen or microwave, and he lives off of sandwiches and other food that doesn't need to be cooked.

Feeling stuck

He said housing corporation rules have stifled his efforts to get out from underneath homelessness.

"We have to call in each week to get an extension to stay there for the next week, which takes almost the whole day to call in. It's stopping me from applying for a job right now because what am I supposed to do, say I can't work Thursday and Friday because I have to be on the phone all day?" Rumbolt said. 

"That's what I've been arguing about with [a housing official[ for the last month on the phone. Like you're not even giving me the opportunity to help myself get out of this situation."

The provincial government spent $206,624 at the hotel on Main Street in the west coast city between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023.

Rumbolt estimates there are about 30 others living in the hotel, most of whom are seniors.

Housing units sit vacant

Rumbolt said he and other residents are frustrated by a lack of movement on accessibility to affordable housing.

"Not one person has been given a place to live since I've been here in four months. Just more people keep getting packed in every week. So whatever [funding] is happening, it's happening somewhere else in the province — it's not happening on the west coast," he said.

"Actually do something. Stop spending money on telling us what you're doing. We don't need a billboard put up at every junction of every little development. Just spend money where it needs to go."

According to numbers from the housing corporation, there are 802 corporation-owned rental units in Corner Brook. Of those units, 53 were listed as vacant and unavailable to rent.

Rumbolt said he and others in the hotel are frustrated that action hasn't been taken to make vacant units habitable. 

The minister responsible for housing, Paul Pike, was not made available for an interview, and did not take questions from reporters following a separate housing-related announcement in St. John's on Wednesday.

In a statement, the housing corporation said "significant investments" have been made including the construction of new housing units, the expansion of emergency shelter capacity, and implementing a new affordable rental housing program to attract private builders to the market. 

The corporation touts starting work on "750 new housing options," which includes rental assistance in the private market and the continuing construction of more than 100 new homes. 

'People look at you like you're nothing'

In St. John's, Kerri-lynn Stanley, 44, says she's been told by a housing support worker that there are no available spaces — including hotels — from St. John's to Port aux Basques.

After being kicked out of the Gathering Place temporarily, an emergency shelter in St. John's, Stanley and her partner erected a makeshift shelter on the back of a former fine dining restaurant facing the harbour.

"[N.L. Housing] said when a spot comes available they're gonna let me know. But every time I call like they're telling me to do, they say, 'We're still waiting, we're still waiting,'" Stanley said in a recent interview. 

"Every day is a struggle."

Stanley's shelter is covered by tarps held down by rocks. The blankets on the ground are cold and wet after a night of rain.

Stanley says she struggles with substance use disorder and mental illness. She says staff allow her to clean up at a nearby hotel, but not all businesses are as accommodating. 

"People look at you like you're nothing," Stanley said. "We have people look at us like we're garbage, and it's not a good feeling."

Stanley said there are vacant buildings in St. John's that should be put to good use.

"Why can't you open that up? Say, 'Listen, guys, we're cleaning up, but you guys can go in there until we find a place to put you,'" she said.

"You're not even doing that."

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