“The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.”

Gandhi

In 2006 researcher/writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote Million Dollar Murray, the story of Murray Barr, a homeless man in Reno, Nevada. That article showed that Murray, living on the streets for 10 years, cost Nevada taxpayers $1 Million in police interventions, courts, ambulance calls, hospital stays, etc. In short, that’s what it cost to keep Murray living in homelessness.  

That article did more than anything else to change the way we look at homelessness, because Murray wasn’t unique. It was a powerful argument in favour of Housing First, a now well-proven strategy that demonstrates the best way to deal with homelessness is first to get the individual into a home, and from that basis of stability that comes from a safe warm place to live, provide whatever supports are needed to help them overcome whatever the demons are that resulted in their homelessness in the first place, and to whatever extent possible, help them turn their lives around. 

Without even considering the moral and ethical responsibilities to our fellow man, on the dollars and cents alone, allowing homelessness costs taxpayers considerably more than dealing with it.  

It costs taxpayers on average $55K per year to have someone live homeless. Putting that person in housing costs $22K per year. That’s a saving of $33K per year per person housed. It doesn’t take a math scholar to figure out that’s a bargain.  

Fredericton is already benefitting from this, through two John Howard Society apartment buildings that are housing people who had been homeless, plus other apartments scattered throughout the city. No question it is helping, but we still have a considerable homelessness problem. It is one that, up until just recently, we thought was going to benefit greatly from the John Howard Society taking over the City Motel and converting it into a mixture of affordable, peer-supported, and emergency housing for the homeless. It was going to get 35 to 40 people off the streets.  According to Jason Lejune, who leads the Housing First effort in Fredericton, that would represent what was expected to take five to ten years to achieve.

That is in jeopardy now with news the application under the Rapid Housing Initiative for federal funding of $2.9 million for the project has not been approved. The province announced on Friday it would cover half of that shortfall. Which means the city would need to cover the other half - $1.45 million. And the clock is ticking because if funding isn’t secured by the end of the month, agreements on other private funding for the City Motel expires. 

We’ve come a long way from a decade or so ago when the city’s attitude was that housing is provincial jurisdiction, so not the city’s problem. I remember at the time being on the board of what was then the Fredericton Emergency Shelter (now Homeless Shelter) arguing that homeless wasn’t only about housing; it was also about public safety, which does come under municipal jurisdiction. 

Now there is general consensus it is a shared responsibility, and further, there is heightened awareness within our community that homelessness is not acceptable.  Or at least that’s my sense of it.  

Which brings us to tomorrow (Monday) evening’s council meeting, where councilors are scheduled to vote on whether to OK this one-time funding to make the City Motel initiative a reality.  

If you agree the city should fund this, if you agree it would be a good use of your tax dollars, be part of making it happen by phoning, emailing, texting or somehow reaching out to your city councilor and telling them you’d like to see them vote in favour. Let your voice be heard. A contact list is copied below.  

Mayor O’Brien and his council have been responsive to homelessness overall, doing more than any previous council. And while this would be going beyond usual provincial/municipal cost-sharing percentages, which the mayor says is usually more along the lines of two-thirds provincial, one-third city, it’s important to see it go ahead even if it isn’t the usual funding arrangement.

It’s the right thing to do morally and economically. We’re talking over $1M in taxpayer savings in one year alone (based on 35 people housed) But what we are really talking about is changing lives. 

Speaking of which, a few words on Phoenix Learning Centre on Woodstock Road. It looks like the organized opposition by some of the people of Sunshine Gardens will prevail and the project will be killed. While concerns of some local residents are real and valid, even though probably exaggerated, as is often the case when people want to push a certain narrative, much of these concerns would abate if the zoning change were allowed. If approved, and the building was converted into the Sara Burns Outreach Centre, with nine housing units upstairs, complete with full staffing and appropriate supports, and downstairs used for education, vocational and life skills training, the research suggests that once such facilities are established, there are few problems.  Studies on these types of facilities show no decrease in neighbourhood property values and no increase in the crime rate. Just thought it was worth throwing that out there. 

Both issues are on the agenda for tomorrow’s or tonight’s, (depending on when you are reading this) city council meeting. It is the City Motel project though, that is job one. That’s the one you should really reach out to your counselor on.  We’re talking serious game-changer here. Let’s do it.  

Here are the City Councillors names and emails:

Ward 1: Dan Keenan (Clements/Sunset) dan.keenan@fredericton.ca, 506-472-6046

Ward 2: Mark Peters (McLeod/Brookside) mark.peters@fredericton.ca, 506-261-0773

Ward 3: Bruce Grandy (Nashwaaksis North) bruce.grandy@fredericton.ca, 506-459-5378

Ward 4: Eric Price (Main Street/North Devon) eric.price@fredericton.ca, 506-447-1100

Ward 5: Steven Hicks (Marysville) steven.hicks steven.hicks@fredericton.ca, 506-476-8435

Ward 6: Eric Megarity (South Devon/Barker’s Point/Lower St. Mary’s) eric.megarity@fredericton.ca, 506-471-7101

Ward 7: Kevin Darrah (Southwood Park/Lincoln) kevin.darrah@fredericton.ca, 506-449-8024

Ward 8: Greg Ericson (Skyline Acres) greg.ericson@fredericton.ca, 506-470-4761

Ward 9: Stephen Chase (Bishop Drive/Odell Park) stephen.chase@fredericton.ca, 506-455-0711

Ward 10: John MacDermid (West Downtown & Plat/Sunshine Gardens) john.macdermid@fredericton.ca, 506-471-5646

Ward 11: Kate Rogers (East Downtown & Plat/UNB) kate.rogers@fredericton.ca, 506-476-4115

Ward 12: Henri Mallet (Silverwood/Garden Creek) henri.mallet@fredericton.ca, 506-440-7655

Thanks for reading. Please share or forward to any Fredericton folks in your network.

Cover photo credit: Matt Collamer, Unsplash