Last week, a man living outside a park had died. It was later revealed that he was part of St. John’s growing homeless population.
The deaths of homeless individuals have raised concerns for groups that are working with homeless people in the city.
“We hate coming to work on Mondays because we always have to try and think of who we lost over the weekend because usually we’re losing someone,” said Julie Dingwell, executive director of Avenue B.
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“Winter comes every year – the same time. So why are we doing this? Why are we waiting until the end of November to say, ‘Oh, gee, we better do something’?”
In addition, the St. John’s police force could not put a number on how many drug overdoses occurred in the past month, but May saw the number as high as 30 percent.
The problem is compounded by the city’s growing homeless population, which sits at around 133, according to Human Development Council, Shelters in the city have been full over the winter, with one saying they would open in some cases for minutes before beds refilled.
“We are full, with 30 beds filled every night now. As soon as we see someone leave the shelter, someone else will come in,” Tony Dickens, shelter director for Outflow St. John, told Global News.
Help will be needed even when housing is available, he said.
“So even if we have all the people power that we need, which we don’t have, even if we have all the financial resources that we need, which we don’t have, the fundamental difference is that these Where will people go? ,
The trio of Fresh Start Services, Outflow St. John and Avenue B collectively called on all three levels of government to help the city’s homeless, said Melanie Voutour, executive director of Fresh Start Services, adding that it’s a system that needs to be focused on education. needs to be made.
“I think it’s just we’re under-served,” Voutour said.
“So the services that are there are doing a lot of work, and we need more acceptance and understanding of substance use. We need to make sure that there are supportive housing models in place to get individuals off the street.
“When you have a mental health and substance use disorder involved, it’s not enough just to get an apartment. You have to have specialist staff who are there to support, and that’s really what we lack.”
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