Landlord paid $720K in taxpayer cash last year to run private emergency shelter

A man offering private emergency shelter services in St. John's was paid more than four times as much as the premier last year.

Leonard Phair houses people who have nowhere else to go — often tenants in the throes of addiction and mental health crises.

Sources have told CBC News that payments sometimes exceed $200 a night for a room in Phair's family home.

Records show the Department of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour made 866 payments to Phair in the 2017-2018 fiscal year for a total of $720,700.

Despite the amount paid out, nobody from the department performed inspections or checkups on Phair's property during the year.

Phair has declined requests for comment on this story, but he did say the money comes from four houses and a maximum of four tenants per unit.

Better ways to spend money?

Gerry Rogers, leader of the provincial NDP and MHA for St. John's Centre, has heard rumblings for years about how much Phair was making from the provincial government.

But she never knew how much it really was until last week.

"It absolutely is not an appropriate way to spend money," she told CBC News. 

"This is taxpayers' money and we have to make sure we are getting value for that money."

But the provincial government is standing by the payments, saying officials assess each stay and make sure the cost falls within a standard rate.

"It's very difficult to put a price tag on these emergency — and the key word is 'emergency' — housings," said Al Hawkins, minister of Advanced Education, Skills and Labour.

Rogers called into question the oversight into private shelters, specifically the one run by Phair at his house on University Avenue.

Government performs a checkup when a person first applies to operate a private shelter. After that, visits are paid only when a complaint is lodged or there is reason to believe adequate care is not being provided.

Any other form of building inspections are the responsibility of the City of St. John's.

When approached by a reporter and asked about the conditions inside the house, a former tenant shrugged and said, "It's a place to lay my head. That's it."

How does someone end up there?

Kieran O'Connell often sees more than 300 people a day come through the Gathering Place, a non-profit centre in St. John's for people who struggle with a variety of issues.

O'Connell, the housing co-ordinator for the Gathering Place, is often tasked with finding their guests a place to stay at night. He calls landlords and non-profit shelters and arranges accommodations.

But sometimes, there's nowhere for people to go.

"The biggest issue is that there just aren't enough beds," he said.

"We see lots of people throughout the week who are looking for a safe place to stay. Unfortunately right now, there aren't many options available. So we depend on what we can access, when we can access it."

Many people aren't able to live month-to-month in an apartment on their own, so they rely on shelters. Some are turned away from not-for-profit shelters for a variety of reasons, including violent tendencies, hygiene, active drug use or drinking.

When there's nowhere else to turn, social services will arrange accommodations at Phair's house.

At the end of the stay, Phair submits an invoice and is paid via direct deposit.

Paid more than non-profit centre

Despite not being obligated to provide anything more than shelter and meals, the province paid Phair $220,700 more than the Gathering Place received in funding last year to operate a 23,000-square-foot building and a wide range of programs.

Joanne Thompson, the Gathering Place's executive director, says the amount of money paid out to one private shelter shows the need for more emergency housing options in the city.

This can be done better.- Gerry Rogers

While she recognizes Phair runs a much-needed operation, she doesn't believe the answer lies with private landlords making big profits.

"It certainly isn't adequate, it isn't helpful and it's not going to help anybody move away from an addiction cycle or a crisis situation."

Gerry Rogers agrees, and says there must be a better bang-for-buck available.

"This can be done better," she said. 

"I believe that there are other partners and agencies within the province who would come to the table and with that amount of money would be able to provide safe, secure housing with wraparound services, and that's what we need."

The provincial government is making changes this month to how housing arrangements are handled, shifting the onus to Newfoundland and Labrador Housing, which falls under a different government department. 

The procedures and programs, however, will remain the same.

"They'll be utilizing the same [places], whether it's the Wiseman Centre or Choices For Youth, and they'll be using individual landlords as well," Hawkins said.

"There's nothing changing except for the fact that it will all be funnelled through Newfoundland and Labrador Housing."

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