Moncton’s Mayor says steps are being taken to eliminate homelessness.
Shawn Crossman was elected on May 11, and since being sworn in on June 1, he has been meeting with local non-profits who are also advocating to end homelessness.
This includes Charlie Burrell of the Humanity Project. “We had a great conversation. He wants to partner with the city on bringing solutions and cleaning up what we’re seeing happening within the city. You’re soon going to see a post from Harvest House where they met with me as well. And they’re the same mentality. They want to clean the city up. They want to take care of the people that are unfortunately right now not getting housing, and they’re in that transitional stage, but also get them out of the elements of what we see going on along St. George Street,” Crossman explained.
He added that next month, a report is expected from the City of Moncton stating what their responsibilities will be to address this issue.
“This is not a light switch where you walk into a room and turn the light switch on, and things change overnight. We’re going to have to work with Charles Burrell, Harvest House and others and work on a process that within two years, we help the province reduce homelessness by 40 per cent. We deserve a seat at that table to help them, and we’re willing to do that. And this is a step in that direction,” Crossman stated.
He feels there are many factors contributing to the issues going on in Moncton’s downtown streets.
“There’s no question, illegal drugs, illegal weapons, outstanding warrants. And if we can’t help the people get out of the element, it’s just going to continue. So it’s great to have these non-profits reach out to me. They say they’re willing to help solve this issue,” Crossman said.
Even before Crossman was sworn in, community safety was a priority.
It has been just over a month since he took on the new role, and Crossman said things are going great so far. “It’s fantastic. It’s such a breath of fresh air right now, across city hall and across the city operations. It’s just a breath of fresh air that people see faith again in what this council can achieve. And we’re going to pull together and do it. Like I said, during my election, it’s together for Moncton, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
