Harvest House is asking for assistance from Moncton City Council, to help with the homelessness issue.
This past summer, the shelter ran over capacity, with up to 42 individuals staying there each day.
Spokesperson Denise McLuskey says this is not typical.
“Normally we look at any homelessness that increases in the summer as transients that are just passing through. That doesn’t seem to be the case this year. It is is more around the lack of affordable housing. Other issues include addiction, that is definitely a big one. Mental health in the early stages is also an issues, and the number of rooming houses that have closed down, that seems to be a big one as well that has caused a lot of influx.”
Executive Director Cal Maskery says they are seeing a lot of people coming back to shelter.
“We believe we have found a model that will really help the City of Moncton. We are overrun on our shelter, and out Step Up housing is also full, but we would like to see it doubled to 72 rooms over the next 3 to 5 years,” Maskery says.
Harvest House currently has 23 beds in its nine month addiction recovery program, for those who need intensive addiction recovery. They also have 36 affordable rooms throughout eh city in their Step Up housing program. They also have classes that build Life Skills, and an on-site Counsellor.
Maskery says, “The value of the Step Up program has a lot of value in helping people get work. We have GED right on site, and we will give it to them for free, and they have an opportunity to move forward with structure. Of the 36 rooms, 28 are for men and 8 are for women. We would like to see this double. Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the privilege of running into people who are working, who have come through our program, and they have moved on successfully.”
Maskery is hoping for a grant investment of around $31,000 in the Step Up program to help purchase the homes and run them, “I hope you will see this as a model that can really make a difference in the City of Moncton.”
Harvest House also receives a community grant for around $15,000 annually that helps to provide for operations in the shelter.
