Future home of new homeless shelter on Albert Street (91.9 The Bend Photo)
The new homeless shelter on Albert Street was expected to open on August 1st but that date has passed and some Moncton city councillors are getting frustrated.
The House of Nazareth has said construction delays have been a problem.
Executive director Jean Dube noted how mostly volunteers were helping out until a project manager and an architect were recently hired.
Ward 1 councillor Shawn Crossman spoke to a lot of residents and businesses who were under the impression the shelter would be open by now.
“You didn’t have an architect with a plan. You didn’t have a contractor with a plan. But yet you just thought that the community was going to come together as volunteers and make this all correct… knowing that there’s codes to follow and quickly get done for August 1st,” Crossman stated.
Ward 2 councillor Charles Leger has been frustrated trying to find out the exact number of beds.
“You know the bottom line is that why would you promise something thinking that it could go one way or another… it doesn’t help our community. So I don’t want to be argumentative but I’m hearing so many numbers,” Leger said.
Dube had said the shelter would have 163 beds but the fire marshal will ultimately decide once the architectural designs are complete.
Dube admitted he was wrong to give out timelines and will be asking governments for more funding to get the shelter open faster.
“This is just simply to cover the over cost. So we’re asking all levels of government to participate with us, not just House of Nazareth,” Dube noted.
So far, the provincial and federal governments have provided $480,000 toward the total cost of $775,000.
Dube added donations and the House of Nazareth have been picking up the remainder.
