Moncton looking for warming centre space

Moncton officials are scrambling to figure out where up to 60 people can go to get out of the cold in the coming weeks.

It echoes the fall of 2018, when the city scrambled to boost shelter capacity as existing spaces were full, ultimately leading to using the city's former fire station on Assumption Boulevard.

City staff met with representatives from the provincial government Tuesday to talk about options for a long-term warming centre.

Neither the city nor the province provided interviews following the meeting. Isabelle LeBlanc, the city's director of communications, indicated in an email there's "nothing concrete yet."

The city announced a warming centre at the House of Nazareth homeless shelter as temperatures plunged earlier this month.

But on the second night, the shelter began turning people away when it reachedits capacity and a COVID-19 case was detected. Public Health told the shelter to "pause" movement in and out of the facility.

St. George's Anglican Church opened its doors. However, city staff told councillors Monday that the church wasn't expecting to do it full-time or for an extended period.

Jocelyn Cohoon, the city's acting general manager of recreation, culture and events services, said during a city council committee meeting that the church would only be an option for about a week more.

"I don't think any of the agencies expected the numbers that we would be seeing," Cohoon said of the 40 to 60 people going to the church's warming centre.

It wasn't clear whether she meant they were staying overnight, or coming and going.

She said the province and various agencies like the John Howard Society and YMCA's ReConnect street outreach service have been helping St. George's. The city has been providing security.

"It really has been a community effort," Cohoon said.

Cohoon said the city has been talking to agencies and the province about a longer-term solution, such as creating more overflow space at existing shelters.

It's unclear if options other than existing shelters are being considered. Trevor Goodwin with ReConnect has said some homeless people have been banned from shelters, or prefer not to go there because of assaults or bad experiences.

The province has indicated it's open to considering options.

Robert Duguay, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Development, told CBC on Tuesday the government is "always open" to the kind of project that was the subject of Tuesday's meeting.

The scramble in 2018 led to cots being set up in the city's former fire station near the courthouse for a winter.

The province and federal government announced they would then fund House of Nazareth's purchase of a property on Albert Street.

The charity said at the time it would offer 120 beds, representing a significant jump in shelter capacity as its Clark Street location had about 50 people staying overnight at the time.

While the new location opened with fewer than 120 beds, it still represented a significant increase in the city's shelter capacity.

However, shelters are once again full, Cohoon told councillors Monday.

She said Harvest House, one of the shelters in the city, is "pretty much" at its capacity with 52 people. She said the shelter recently received approval from the fire marshal and Social Development to add about 15 more spaces.

Crossroad for Women was full with 41 people, Cohoon said.

There were more than 90 people registered to stay at House of Nazareth, Cohoon said.