St. Stephen Council Discusses Growing Homeless Population In The Community

At the February council meeting for the Municipal District of St. Stephen, Councillor Marg Harding said she has heard from numerous citizens in St. Stephen about their concerns regarding the growing homeless population in town and the role the new warming station for the unsheltered population is playing in the community.

Recently, a video went viral on Facebook of what appeared to be a St. Stephen warming station client using fentanyl in the warming station bathroom. An employee of the warming station also appeared in the video and was recorded using profanities in her interactions with the two warming station clients who appeared in the video. 

"I have had numerous phone calls about the situation that's going on in St. Stephen about the warming shack and what happens there," said Harding. In fall 2022, Harding notably voted against the town supporting the warming station initiative back when she was a councillor for the Town of St. Stephen prior to amalgamation. The town ultimately voted in favour of giving $10,000 towards the creation of the warming station, though a few councillors were not supportive of the initiative. Harding was re-elected as a councillor for the Municipal District of St. Stephen and remains a vocal critic of the warming station, which was created under the guidance of the previous council.

Councillor Emily Rodas interjected to say that language is important when discussing the homeless population in order to destigmatize homelessness. 

"Can I just make a comment and a correction?" said Rodas. "It's not a warming shack; it's the winter warming station of St. Stephen, just to clarify. We should all be aware of the correct language to use when discussing this." 

Although Deputy Mayor Ghislaine Wheaton is a supporter of the warming station, she believes that the initiative must continue to evolve in order to properly support the homeless population in the community while maintaining a community atmosphere that works for all residents. "I have received phone calls regarding the homeless situation outside of the shelter, and I've given it a lot of thought as to where do these people go during the day?" said Deputy Mayor Ghislaine Wheaton. "I really think this is something we need to work on." The warming station, notably, is only open until 8am, at which point clients must leave the building on Union Street and can only return after 8pm. 

"I chair the social inclusion committee," said Rodas. "I met a young male who has lived experience of drug addiction and homelessness, and I have asked him to speak to our committee. I think part of learning about this has to be familiarizing ourselves with what we don't understand."