Like in many other cities, chronic homelessness is a reality for some Saint Johners. As the winter approaches and sleeping outside becomes even more unsafe, we have seen other municipalities create temporary, “Out of the Cold” shelters. These are costly to run, require tremendous human resources and don’t provide any long-term outcomes.
.In 2019, The Human Development Council launched a Coordinated Access System to better identify and track our citizens experiencing chronic homelessness.
Today, there are at least 120 actively homeless individuals in our city, 69 are chronically homeless and about 40 are “rough sleeping.”
We work with more than 10 other agencies and government partners to prioritize people for housing. That’s the first step. The second is finding safe and affordable housing.
Housed
To secure homes for
Our Goal:
We want to house 30 individuals this holiday season so they can begin 2022 with the most critical foundation of stability – a safe home.
Many Saint John landlords have shown true community leadership by connecting with us and providing units to individuals and families experiencing homelessness. We just need more of them.
“I truly believe if someone has stable housing, it’s a big step to helping them succeed.”
– Gordon Ferris, Saint John Property Owner
Do you own a rental property in Saint John? You can help. And we will help you.
In partnership with the Province of New Brunswick’s Rent Supplement Program, our program provides you with guaranteed rent but, more importantly, the knowledge that you are helping someone secure a safe and stable home.
How we help:
- Tenants are pre-screened.
- We provide tenants with the tools to establish a positive working relationship with landlords.
- We support tenants with education or employment training – and anything else they need.
- We support you and the tenant long-term should any issues arise.
We have the tenants, the ability to supplement their rent and the supports they need to achieve long-term success. We just need the units.
Reduce those being turned away from existing shelters
Avoid opening a costly temporary winter shelter
Provide additional supports to those housed to ensure their long-term success
Help us help 30 Saint Johners come In from the cold – permanently.
Thanks for taking the first step to learn more about how property owners like you can help. You probably have many questions – especially about what happens once a tenant is placed. We would love to speak with you directly, so contact – infromthecold@sjhdc.ca or call Cathy Foote at 506-717-0130.You can also take a look at our Landlord Survey to help you better understand what’s involved and how we can help – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2N892KR
Our thanks to our partner agencies who are involved in this effort:
© 2021 Human Development Council.