Sharp increase in people sleeping rough in New Brunswick
687 people have no permanent home, according to Human Development Council
New Brunswick's homeless population has nearly doubled in each of the province's three major cities over the past two years, with more than a third of people living in encampments, vehicles or outdoors, according to a survey by the Human Development Council.
Greg Bishop, a senior director with the council, said the numbers are "eye-opening," but expected. He said frontline workers have reported a steady, visible increase over the past two years.
"It's the number of people who are outdoors where we saw the most significant rise," he said. "People who are in encampments or perhaps tenting alone in a park, park benches, ATMs."
From April 17-18, 2023, the organization conducted what's known as a point-in-time count, speaking to people at shelters, unsheltered locations and correctional facilities in Moncton, Fredericton, Saint John, Bathurst, Miramichi and St. Stephen.
The survey found an uptick in the number of people sleeping outdoors in urban areas, including in Moncton. (Pierre Fournier/CBC)
The group counted more than 687 people experiencing "absolute homelessness" in these communities.
And the group found a large number of New Brunswickers experiencing chronic homelessness, defined as 180 days or more in the past year without a permanent place to live.
Bishop said part of the goal is to gather information about why people are experiencing homelessness and barriers to finding housing.
Barriers to housing included not being able to afford rent, not enough income and addiction.
Across the communities surveyed, 75 per cent of respondents reported the cost of rent as a challenge to finding housing.
Of the three major cities, Saint John saw the largest uptick in homelessness at 128 people — a 131 per cent increase since 2021. In Fredericton, 119 people were counted as homeless.
The majority of the province's homeless population, nearly 400 people, were counted in Moncton.
Mike Randall, co-chair of the Greater Moncton homelessness steering committee, said advocates have been raising concerns over the significant increase in the past few years.
"The frustrating thing for me is it reinforces something we've been saying for two years," he said of the survey's findings.
"I think we've seen a consistent increase in inflow despite record numbers of housing people."
St.
Stephen was one of the smaller communities where the Human Development
Council assessed the number of homeless people. Some were staying in
this structure before an emergency out-of-the-cold shelter opened in the
community. (Holly Johnson/Facebook)
Nearly half of respondents in Moncton said their most recent housing loss was due to an eviction, and one-in-four said it was because they didn't have enough income.
Shannon Barry, senior director of outreach services at the YMCA of Greater Moncton, said the cost of living and limited affordable housing are contributing to homelessness.
Barry said the true number of homeless people in the city is likely higher that what was captured during the 48-hour point-in-time count.
"There's definitely a lot of hidden homeless, particularly youth homelessness and a lot of couch-surfing," she said.
Randall said 166 people were moved into permanent housing in Moncton in 2023, but record numbers of people becoming newly homeless are making it difficult to keep up.
He said the current focus is on "Band-Aid" solutions such as shelter beds, which don't tackle the root causes of homelessness in the community, including a lack of affordable housing, mental health issues and addiction.
An individual shelter bed can cost the province as much as $20,000 per year, Randall said.
"We're spending that to save lives, which is important, but we're not solving the problem and we're starting all over again every spring. That isn't the right way to approach this if we're looking for permanent solutions."
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Man dead after fire at Saint John encampment
Co-founder of Street Team Saint john says encampment fires a concern when temperatures drop
A 44-year-old man found burned in a fire at a Saint John homeless encampment has died, police say.
Crews responding to the fire Saturday night near the Main Street Viaduct over Route 1 found the man with extensive injuries. He was pronounced dead on Sunday.
On Monday afternoon, Saint John Police identified the man as Peter Evan Ralph McArthur.
Fire platoon chief Ed Moyer said the construction of the encampment presented a challenge for firefighters. Propane cylinders, cooking devices and heating devices, among other items, "made it a difficult and unsafe area."
The Saint John Fire Department and Saint John Police Force are investigating the cause of the fire. (Julia Wright/CBC)
Police and the Saint John Fire Department will continue to investigate the cause of the fire, a police news release said.
City 'in crisis mode,' mayor says
Following the news that Saturday's fire claimed a man's life, Mayor Donna Reardon told CBC Radio's Shift that the homeless encampment has been there "for a while," and the public nature of the fire has drawn more attention to the issue as the city grapples with the death.
"I always say for Saint John, we're in the trenches. We've been in the trenches for a while with homelessness," said Reardon.
"We've known we've had a chronic group of homeless people that have been around, 70 or some, but we're in a crisis mode now."
Reardon said there were only seven shelter beds available the night of the fire, "and that's not enough."
Saint
John Mayor Donna Reardon said Saint John is "in the trenches" when it
comes to homelessness, and wants to see more resources from the province
so the city can deal with the issue. (CBC)
Reardon said the city has been working to address the lack of affordable housing and shelter space, but has been taking its cue from Fresh Start, an organization the province tapped to work on homelessness.
She said Fresh Start takes a "harm reduction approach," which is why the encampment was not removed prior to the fire. She said some people who are homeless will not go into warming or overnight shelters under any circumstances, and that has to be respected.
Reardon wants to see the city take over the social development file from the province, and bring resources to address the issue at the municipal level, because that would be more effective.
"Everyone has been working on that issue and figure out what can we do. But you can do as many plans as you want but you need resources to trigger them."
Social Development spokesperson Rebecca Howland sent CBC News an email statement that called the death "a tragedy" and said the province is committed to reducing chronic homelessness by working with partners in all levels of government.
Howland said capacity in Saint John "wasn't an issue this past weekend" because of a recently opened shelter on Somerset Street that is operating until April, when it will become a homeless hub with "wrap-around services."
She said the province has nine permanent emergency shelters with a total of 301 beds, which can be increased by 200 in the winter months. Professional outreach services at the street level have also been expanded, Howland said.
Combined effort needed, says group
Ivan McCullough, one of the co-founders of Street Team Saint John, a group that helps provide food and necessities for homeless Saint Johners, said a volunteer with the organization was in the area on Saturday and saw the flames.
She called 911, who had already been informed, and went to scene where she stayed and tried to help the individuals involved as best as she could.
In the meantime, McCullough rushed to the encampment with emergency kits containing a little bit of food, essentials for starting a new shelter and some warm clothes.
He said the people who weren't injured in the fire were shaken although physically OK, and the organization worked to get those who wanted to go to different shelters.
There was one individual who didn't want to go to a shelter, but McCullough said he can't fault individuals for not wanting to go, and they all have different reasons.
"The fellow last night, he just didn't want to leave where he was because that's his home. That's where he calls home. That's where he feels safe."
Ivan
McCullough, one of the co-founders of Street Team Saint John, says
encampment fires are a concern, especially when temperatures drop. (Lars Schwarz/CBC)
Encampment fires are always a concern, especially when temperatures drop, said McCullough.
"If you're desperate … you're going to do whatever you think you need to do to try to get warm, and the situation is, it's so complex, there's so many things that are involved," he said.
"As far as getting people into housing, you have to have places to get them to first."
He said solutions cannot fall on just one entity. He said it needs to be a combined effort from the community and the local, provincial and federal governments.
On the community side of things, McCullough said, his organization is just trying to keep people fed and warm, but solving the problem of homelessness would require many more heads.
He said one solution would be a place to set up legal encampments, where there could be better shelter and more protection. He said it's part of the reason some people don't want to leave their tents — they don't want to come back to nothing.
McCullough said a major event like a fire would be heartbreaking for anyone.
"Of course it's going to be devastating," he said. "But most of these folks are far more resilient than maybe you or I would be for the first little while."
Councillor says city needs permanent solutions
Coun. Paula Radwan said community groups are working on temporary solutions and the province put up an out-of-the-cold shelter, but this isn't enough.
"We need permanent solutions," she said. "We are getting the housing accelerator fund, which will be announced very soon how much the city is getting and how that will be allocated, but we need these solutions like months ago."
She said pressure needs to be applied to all levels of government, including the city.
"I'm very concerned, because it's getting cold and people have great needs and because of inflation, there's a lot of people that are one paycheque away from being in a tent."
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With files from Lars Schwarz, Sam Farley, and Shift
Police investigating fatal fire in Woodstock
Police unable to say if man who died was sheltering inside the structure that burned
A man was found dead after a fire in a shed Monday morning in Woodstock.
The fire was reported shortly before 6:30 a.m. in a tool shed belonging to the Woodstock Methodist Cemetery, just beyond some backyards on Broadway Street, said Deputy Chief Mark Bennett of Woodstock police.
The baby-barn storage building was in flames when firefighters arrived, said fire Chief Harold McLellan.
About 15 firefighters responded. They had ample water from a pumper truck but because the flames were so intense, they couldn't go inside, he said.
Deputy
Chief Mark Bennett of the Woodstock police said the investigation will
help determine what caused the fire and if criminality was involved. (Ed Hunter/ CBC News)
It took about 45 minutes to put out the fire, said the chief, adding there was no danger to nearby homes.
The body of a man was found inside the shed, said Bennett.
The fire marshal and coroner's offices are involved in the investigation, he said, adding an autopsy is planned for Tuesday.
A number of things are unknown, including whether the person was homeless and using the shed for shelter, said Bennett.
"We're not prepared to say whether this was that kind of situation. At this point, we don't know if the person was seeking shelter. … The investigation's in its infancy.
"Once we can determine how the fire started, why the fire started, how the person succumbed to their injuries and the identity of the individual, we then can find out if it is a situation where there was something criminal or not."
Woodstock Mayor Trina Jones declined an interview request from CBC News, citing the police investigation.
This was second fatal fire in the province in as many days. Saint John police said a 44-year-old man died Sunday following a fire in a makeshift encampment Saturday night.
It
took firefighters about 45 minutes to put out the shed fire at the
Woodstock Methodist Cemetery. They only discovered the body after the
fire was extinguished, said Woodstock fire Chief Harold McLellan. (Ed Hunter/CBC News)
Woodstock police are canvassing nearby residents for possible information or security camera video, said Bennett.
Like other small communities, Woodstock does have people who are homeless, said the deputy chief, but police have not come across any encampments.
Local support programs are available, he said, such as one that supplies backpacks containing food, water, warm clothing and contact information for other available services.
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'Free at last': Evan McArthur dies a hero in Saint John encampment fire, says mother
McArthur, 44, who struggled with addiction, believed he 'had a purpose' and got people out of the burning tent
Peter Evan McArthur died Sunday following a tragic homeless encampment fire in Saint John on Saturday night. (Evan McArthur/Facebook)Peter Evan McArthur died a hero and is "free at last," according to his mother.
The 44-year-old man suffered burns to 92 per cent of his body in a fire Saturday night at a Saint John homeless encampment near the Main Street Viaduct over Route 1. He was pronounced dead at a Halifax hospital on Sunday.
Heather McArthur says she visited her son at the Saint John hospital before he was transported by helicopter. She says she'll never forget the look of him or what he told her.
"What he said to me was, 'Did they get out?'
"I had no clue what he was talking about. He said, 'I know the girls did, but I couldn't find him.'"
Evan, who was homeless and lived in a makeshift hut in Millidgeville, had been visiting friends at that encampment and fallen asleep when the fire broke out, said McArthur.
She said he told her, "I tried to put it out after I got the girl out, but I couldn't find him, and I couldn't put the fire out. And then the next thing, I was at the tent door and somebody was pulling me out."
Evan McArthur was visiting friends who lived at the encampment, his mother says. (Lars Schwarz/CBC)
By then Evan started coughing and choking and had to be intubated for transport, said McArthur.
"You put out all the fires you need to," she told her son. "It's time to rest.
"'I want you to know only one thing, no matter what was or what is: I love you, your brother loves you, your nieces love you, and your dad loves you. That's all you have to remember.
"And then they put him to sleep and he didn't wake up."
The Saint John Fire Department and Saint John Police Force continue to investigate the cause of the fire.
According to McArthur, statements police took from the "girls gelled with what Evan was saying."
Because Evan had fallen asleep before the fire started, however, he didn't realize the man he went back to look for in the two-room tent had left earlier in the evening, she said.
McArthur,
who would have turned 45 on Feb. 25, had been visiting his family more
in the past year and they celebrated their first Christmas together in
about 20 years. (Submitted by Heather McArthur)
McArthur visited the charred encampment Monday and found one of her son's size 13 sneakers, burned among the rubble.
"In essence, Evan was a hero because those girls would not be alive if he hadn't done what he did. So in my estimation, he felt he had a purpose, and I think his purpose was served that night."
Evan believed in "a higher power" from a young age, said McArthur. But he also struggled with demons — drugs and alcohol, which made him violent.
"The skin-graft doctor in Halifax told me that they could keep him, but it would take 10 to 12 surgeries with no guarantee and no quality of life.
"Or we could just let him be. And Evan always wanted to be free. He carried enough demons. So we let him be free. And he died the next morning."
"Free at last, son," his obituary reads.
Crack cocaine at 15 changed son
Evan's problems started when he was introduced to crack cocaine at age 15, said McArthur.
"It changed who he was mentally and physically."
Her curious, "brilliant" little boy, who used to put salamanders in his pockets, who was involved in the church mentoring group and had "every badge going," who had a passion for reading and a talent for music, who loved joking around and being the centre of attention, slowly disappeared.
Evan started university, hoping to pursue psychology, but dropped out after about two and a half years, because of addiction.
"From there on, it was just one in-depth disaster after another. Bad choices, bad behaviour, bad attitudes."
McArthur was estranged from Evan for about 15 years because she found it too painful to watch his steady decline, and she knew there was nothing she could do to help him until he was ready to be helped.
Self-described 'trapoholic'
Although McArthur believes Evan eventually beat his battle with drugs, he continued to fight the war with alcohol.
"For some reason, he believed the alcohol was keeping him alive. And he just was so scared of what would happen to his body and his mind if he didn't have the alcohol."
He described himself as a "trapoholic," she said. He told her, "I'm trapped. I need a drink or I get violently ill. If I drink, I get violent. And I just keep going around and around and around, with no way of getting off."
Evan had odd jobs over the years, but struggled to maintain full-time work. He'd been homeless for about four years, living in the woods.
Evan was homeless for about four years and lived in this camp in the woods in Millidgeville, his mother said. (Heather McArthur)
McArthur didn't know about that until recently, as they worked to rebuild their relationship. As a mother, she worried.
"It must be horrific being homeless, it truly must be," she said. "I mean, how do you provide yourself with food and shelter and cleanliness and warmth? … And he said on really cold nights, he would find friends that would take him in."
More recently, Evan would come to the family home if he wasn't drinking.
"This was his shelter in the storm."
Was rebuilding relationships
This past year was better than ever, she said, noting they celebrated Christmas together for the first time in about 20 years.
Two days before the fatal fire, Evan got to meet his nieces, who live in Alberta, for the first time over a video call, and spoke to his brother Adam for the first time in about 15 years, said McArthur.
"He had tears running down his cheeks," she said. "It was just phenomenal that he had that opportunity, and that's the first thing his brother said when I told him his brother had died. He said, 'Oh, thank goodness we got that chat in, Mom.'"
When it got too cold out, Evan would go to a friend's or to his family home to sleep, his mother said. (Heather McArthur)
Evan also visited on the day he died, said McArthur. He had breakfast, took a shower, stayed warm.
"And then he decided he was going to go visit three of his friends in their tent.
"Apparently, it's quite normal for his friends, who all live in tents, to visit each other and just sort of group together to get warm. That's the purpose of it, I think."
'These people are valuable'
McArthur said was very much aware of the homeless situation in Saint John and has been doing what she can to help, gathering up warm clothing and blankets, and anonymously dropping off boxes of non-perishable foods.
"But I'm not making a difference. This has gone way beyond — when a man can die from living in a tent in the conditions that those tents were in. I just, I had no idea it was that crowded.
"And they tell me that's a small camp compared to some of the ones we have uptown."
Heather McArthur says Evan described his home as a 'little piece of heaven.' (Heather McArthur)
Evan's solitary hut was different, said McArthur, who went to visit it on Monday and was struck by how tidy it was, with his bed made and dishes hung.
"He took his ingenuity, he took what skills he had, and he put them into what he called his home — his little piece of heaven," she said.
I don't know how you stop all of this. I don't even know if you can. But we've got to start somewhere — as a community, as a group, as a government body —let's all try to get on one of the same pages so we can do something.
- Heather McArthur, mother
"That's why Evan's story needs to be heard, because these are valuable people. Some of them, yes, have addictions and it causes issues, but they're all valuable in their own way."
McArthur doesn't know what the answers are, but she said her son's death and the fire should never have happened.
"It's not like we didn't know it was … possible because we did. Every one of us has heard the horror stories."
She intends to become an advocate and to push for meaningful changes instead of what she described as a "hit-and-miss" approach.
McArthur
visited her son's place in Millidgeville on Monday and was struck by
how tidy and innovative he was in such a small space. (Heather McArthur)
"I don't know how you stop all of this. I don't even know if you can," given all the socioeconomic issues involved.
"But we've got to start somewhere — as a community, as a group, as a government body — let's all try to get on one of the same pages so we can do something.
"We've got to have a sense of direction on this and there isn't — not from the government, not from the powers that be, and not from the people that so desperately want to help. So how do we all work together if we don't have a common objective?"
No funeral service for Evan is planned at this time. Remembrances to Outflow Ministries of Saint John would be appreciated, his family says.
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