For Warren MaddoxThere are many questions about government Grant for which was announced back in October emergency shelter and support for those experiencing homelessness.
The province announced $8 million over three years to “better support emergency shelters and help reduce chronic homelessness”.
However, Maddox said his organization, Fredericton Shelters, has only seen about $100,000 of that money intentionally earmarked for an emergency out-of-the-cold shelter.
“The statement that came out of Social Development last week, which was a bit outrageous, was, ‘Well, they’ve given us more money,'” he said. “Not really, they gave us $100,000 to run the cold emergency location, which really burdens our organization. It’s more staffed, it’s more complicated. Much more complicated.”
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He said the issue is not just about giving someone a place to stay for the night.
“It’s really important to us, and to other shelters, to do the kind of job we’re expected to do and given the kind of funding we’ve been told we need to do,” she said in an interview Tuesday. May go.”
funding parameter
Back in October, the province said funding would be available to help it contribute to better outcomes for clients, identify short-term supportive options and find stable housing. It said the funding “will be based on the services provided” and that shelters “must have a plan to increase the number of beds available during peak season.”
“It’s almost been radio silence,” Maddox said. “It’s a shame if that new money, which we’ve been asking for for years, is wasted on something that has no impact on the people who are trying to shelter.”
Warren Maddox, executive director of Fredericton Shelters, said there has been no communication on the funding announced in October.
Nathalie Sturgeon / Global News
Those living outside had nowhere to go when the temperature dropped to -45 degrees Celsius on Saturday accompanied by a chilly wind.
Maddox said all available options, including the out-of-the-cold facility, were at capacity.
A warming center set up by the University of New Brunswick Community Health Clinic was closed on Friday. Organizers of that facility said that in addition to lease issues, timing was a problem.
Joan Kingston said the plan going forward is to open any day the temperature drops to dangerously low levels.
“Not all the pieces had fallen into place,” she said. “We found a great solution to cover that day.”
Wilmont Baptist Church was that solution, Kingston said. A companion, she explained, the center was grateful for this past weekend. The cathedral opened its doors on Saturday, allowing many to escape the frigid temperatures.
Kingston said the warming center is funded jointly between the province and the federal government, but is running at less than $100,000.
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“We know that, although our goal is to house people, we are in the midst of a situation where many people are still sleeping rough,” she said.
So far, Kingston said, the space has been in steady use — up to 15 to 20 people per day.
However, Maddox states that things are as bad as ever. There are more people to care for and no adjustments have been made for how the environment has changed.
He said it was one of the most violent years his staff had had to deal with, as many people’s behavior was being fueled by a new drug cocktail.
“It’s explosive,” he said.
Maddox said two staff members have been physically assaulted in the past two weeks. He added that cold shelters and warming centers cannot even be considered as a Band-Aid solution.
“A bunch of guys are tough and they’ve been through many winters, so they know,” he said. “Overall, it is going to be tough. Mental health issues are going to be tough. Dealing with drugs and working is tough and there are some that have come through this year really bad.
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The Department of Social Development said it had awarded $1.6 million of the $8 million plan, of which $243,115 was given to the Fredericton region. It said the money was used “to expand warming centers or shelter capacity in many communities”.
This warming center has been installed and while it was not open for the first night of freezing temperatures, the plan is to keep it open when temperatures drop to dangerous levels, even on weekends.
Nathalie Sturgeon / Global News
According to the department, Fredericton Shelters received $100,000 for the extreme weather shelter at the Aquatic Center.
It did not provide more specific details of where the remaining funds were used.
Rebecca Howland, a spokeswoman for the department, confirmed that the province is working with Ontario-based OrgCode for expertise on homelessness.
“Part of this work is to develop a funding model for shelters and extreme weather responses for the next fiscal year 2023-2024,” she said in a statement.
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Maddox said it doesn’t make sense for the province to outsource a firm to deal with a problem he and his staff, along with many other organizations, work with every day.
There is a problem of accountability for that.
“I think on that front, Mr. Higgs is very big on accountability and demanding accountability from organizations like us in the community and the agencies that work here … It goes both ways,” he said.
He said that he does not believe that frontline organizations have the power to raise questions at the expense of the government in the same way.
“Let them spend a week here in the shelters,” he said. “It will be an eye-opener.”