About 100 people attended a meeting this weekend in St. Stephen to hear more about what the town’s homeless shelter offers the community.Run by the non-profit organization Neighbourhood Works, the Lighthouse Lodge shelter has been operational since last December, replacing a temporary overnight shelter. “We had folks sleeping out in the cold. It was terrible. Nobody liked that,” said Mark Groleau, a board member at Neighbourhood Works.St. Stephen, a town in eastern New Brunswick that sits at the edge of the U.S. border, has a population of fewer than 5,000 and in a community this small, the problem of homelessness has become an issue that’s personal to many.“Neighborhood Works ultimately is operating to fill the need, fill the gap, [for] the people who need help in emergency shelter,” said Groleau.But in the last 11 months, the 30-bed Lighthouse Lodge has come under fire by neighbours who aren’t happy with its presence. So the group decided to hold a public information session on Sunday, to give residents the opportunity to ask questions and get answers.WATCH | ‘We’re always striving to be a better neighbour,’ says Groleau:Dozens show up to info session after St. Stephen homeless shelter receives complaintsThe Lighthouse Lodge, a homeless shelter in St. Stephen that opened in 2024, hosted an information panel for the public to shine a light on the work it does. “We felt like there was a sense in the community of not understanding exactly what is going on with Neighborhood Works, what work is being done, what needs are being addressed, who is being helped,” Groleau said.“If more people saw exactly who’s being helped by Neighborhood Works and how, I really believe that they would be extremely proud to have Neighborhood Works operating in town.”Mixed reactions from residentsAbout 100 residents from across Charlotte County attended the meeting, which featured seven panellists from various community groups.“They’re doing a lot of things that I sort of knew a little bit about, and some things that I didn’t even know they were doing or existed,” said Maria Simpson, one resident who attended.Simpson said she was taking home some pamphlets to do more research, and ultimately she empathizes with people going through addiction or mental health struggles that may lead them to homelessness.Executive director of Neighbourhood Works, Jim Stuart, spoke at the meeting and explained some of the work the group does aside from just operating the lodge. (Victoria Walton/CBC)“These are very troubled people who have made some choices that I don’t understand always, and so I want them to get help,” she said. “The drugs aren’t going away and we’ve got to do something about it.”Stacy Arsenault lives on St. Croix Street, about three houses down from the Lighthouse Lodge. He’s part of an informal neighbourhood group with concerns about the shelter’s location. While he was out of town during the meeting, Arsenault told CBC that he’s seen some troubling things since the shelter opened.“It’s just constant. There’s drug dealers showing up, there’s transactions, there’s needles, there’s garbage, there’s fights,” he said. “Any given day. It’s very volatile.”Arsenault said he doesn’t want the shelter shut down, but he’s hopeful it could be moved to a different location. He said he wants the municipal council and the group operating the lodge to hear his group’s perspective.“It’s a hard act to balance, and all we are asking for is a place at the table to have some discussions,” he said.The Lighthouse Lodge has operated as a permanent shelter at its current location on Main St. since last December. (Roger Cosman/CBC)Another resident, Wilma Coates, said she’s volunteered at the shelter before to help plant gardens.“There’s been really hard things that have happened, and it has negatively impacted the lives in that area. I see that very clearly,” she said.“But I also see that, you know, changes are being made and they’re very open to trying to help and fix things — just give it a chance.”Diverse perspectives on panelThree of the seven panellists at the meeting represented Neighbourhood Works, including executive director Jim Stuart, child and youth program director Jessica Brown, and director of adult services Amanda DeGruchy. DeGruchy answered questions from the audience about how the lodge handles uncooperative residents, as well as how many of its clients are from Charlotte County — to which she responded about 98 per cent.“These are our mothers, our brothers, our sisters, our daughters,” she said. “And we need to remember that.”Tony Hall, a recovering addict from St. Stephen, said when he started his journey to get sober three years ago, it was DeGruchy who helped him.Tony Hall was struggling with addiction until three years ago when Amanda DeGruchy, who now runs Lighthouse Lodge, started to help him get the support he needed. (Victoria Walton/CBC)“She brought me a blanket, some food and stuff like that and she showed me hope,” he said. “And then after that she goes, you know, can we meet again?”Hall said it’s frustrating to see a lack of compassion coming from some of his neighbours.“It makes me very angry about the NIMBYism and people not willing to, there’s several people that don’t even engage.”Assistant Deputy Minister of Social Development, Bronwyn Davies, was also on the panel, along with people from other community organizations, including two staff from sexual violence support centre The Willow Centre, and recently retired Avenue B harm reduction coordinator, Diane Kerns.Kerns told CBC that St. Stephen is in a unique position to tackle homelessness and addiction.Diane Kerns, one of the panellists who recently retired from harm reduction work, says small communities like St. Stephen have a unique opportunity to address homesless. (Victoria Walton/CBC)“In some cases, the smaller communities have an advantage…because you have a smaller office, a smaller population, you might have a more intimate connection,” she said. “As a community, we can advocate to do it different.”As for Groleau and the staff at Neighbourhood Works, they recognize the issue is “complex” and the lodge has caused some disturbances, but say being a good neighbour is their goal.“Hopefully today people understand that, you know, there are difficulties around the lodge, but we are trying everything we can, not just to be a great neighbor ourselves, but to to help our guests, to mentor our guests who need the shelter, how to be a good neighbor as well.”
St. Stephen homeless shelter hosts community members to address concerns, broaden perspectives
