Saint John’s out-of-the-cold shelter is a step up from previous years, says the head of the non-profit group running it, and she wants to see it outlast the winter.

“The evolution to this year is recognizing it’s not enough to give people a place to sleep at night,” said Vautour, who is executive director of Fresh Start Services. “We also want to be able to engage with them, build relationships and really make them feel that they have a little home.”

Vautour praises the province for the location it chose for this year’s shelter — a large building on Rothesay Avenue across from a post office and a short distance from the Atlantic Superstore. It has 60 beds, 20 more than last year’s response, and features showers and a communal space.

Melanie Vautour of Fresh Start Services, the Saint John non-profit operating this year’s provincial out-of-the-cold response, says the winter shelter aims to offer more than a place to sleep. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

“A few of our guests have talked about how they can make their own coffee, they can watch TV, they can draw … they just feel really safe and at home here,” Vautour said.

The winter shelter is a result of a partnership between the city and the provincial government. It was announced in November and opened in early December.

The sleeping area is divided into two parts of the building, with walled-off sections or “pods,” most with two beds that can be placed together.

“We have no couple shelters in Saint John. So couples have to separate, which drives a lot of them to choose to be outside,” Vautour says.

“They don’t want to leave each other, and then letting them put the cots together gives a sense of comfort and to be close to your partner. So here we have a location that has a lot of space, which in and of itself helps people to have space for themselves.”

Potential long-term space for growing population

The shelter has been open for less than a week but Vautour says it saw 20 people on the first night and almost 50 in the next few days. She says they have capacity to add 10 more beds and to extend their operating hours into day time during inclement weather events or particularly cold days.

A city announcement says the space will be evaluated for long-term use in the spring.

Vautour says the city needs a third long-term shelter, and one that can accommodate couples and pets — something it doesn’t currently have.

“We’re almost at capacity. We haven’t even opened a week yet. And so we know the need is there,” she said.

WATCH | It’s not enough to give people a place to sleep at night, says non-profit director:

Mayor Donna Reardon said if the shelter were to become long term, it would bring “continuity” instead of having to relocate it every year.

“It’s always been a scramble from the summer months onward to try to find a location and then fit up a location,” she said. Keeping the shelter in the same facility for multiple years would help it to operate “like a well oiled machine,” she said.

Last winter, a death in an encampment fire sparked a public outcry for more action from leaders at all levels of government. Kaleidoscope Social Impact, another local non-profit, installed six repurposed shipping containers on Waterloo Street, with heating and beds for a dozen people.

That temporary shelter, Vautour says, is being dismantled with some of its occupants coming to the new winter shelter and others moving on to other housing arrangements, such as the coming Somerset ACRES project.

Evolving to meet needs

The larger space, communal area and moveable beds are a response to the needs from previous shelters, Vautour says.

The first official winter shelter was run out of the Hilton Belyea Arena in 2021 on the city’s west side. The previous winter’s shelter was run out of a building on the north end, on Somerset Street.

The facility will have showers, a recreation space and 60 beds, 20 more than the previous year’s winter shelter. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

The arena, Vautour says, was “really just about a place to sleep” with “no thought to the other pieces of supporting individuals.”

That led to conflicts between come of the shelter’s clients, she says, due to a lack of privacy.

“Fast forward to last year with Somerset Street, which was again a very small space and not really room for this type of activity,” Vautour says.

The dividers between beds, Vautour says, are carried over from the previous year’s shelter. But space limitations and divider wall setups made moving beds together for couples and allowing pets impossible in last year’s shelter.

“It gives individuals a sense of privacy in their own little space. And then it also allows us to say if people don’t get along or they’re having difficulties,” she said.

“It’s just constant evolution of, what do our guests need? How do we meet that need?” she says.