New Fredericton Homeless Shelters space to aid transition out of homelessness - Action News
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New Brunswick

New Fredericton Homeless Shelters space to aid transition out of homelessness

Transition house gives people extra support, reduced cost, and space to fail before leaving the shelters for permanent housing.

Executive director says 65 to 70 per cent of residents find success in transitional housing program

A white house is pictured, with trees around it and a clear blue sky above.
The Fredericton Homeless Shelters' new building on York Street adds a third transitional home in the downtown. (Submitted/Fredericton Homeless Shelters)

A new facilityoperated by the Fredericton Homeless Shelters aims to support people as theytransition out of homelessness and into independent living.

Goddard House is not a shelterbut serves as a middle stepbetween living in a shelter and full independence, said executive directorWarren Maddox.

"It creates that further stabilization for individuals that we know aren't quite ready for independence, to be completely on their own," Maddox said.

"[It] is really sort of a soft cushion between the reality, the harsh reality of being homeless and in a shelter, to getting back to being sort of fully independent."

A man with a white beard and glasses and a white dress shirt.
Warren Maddox, executive director of the Fredericton Homeless Shelters. (Jeanne Armstrong/CBC)

It's the organization's third transitional home, but is the first to offer a three-bedroom apartment.

"Three-bedroom apartments are a rare thing in our ecosystem, making this property very important for us," the organization said in astatement."We will be able to bring stability to a family struggling to make their way in the world."

The other two homes, Mim's House and Georgette's House, contain a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Maddox said those in Goddard House will pay $240 per month, which will cover everything from internetto furniture and energy.

A bed in a dimly lit room, with a sign hanging above that says
A bedroom in Mim's House, one of Fredericton Homeless Shelters' three transitional homes. (Edwin Hunter/CBC)

"It's a valuable tool for them to get used to budgeting, it's an important tool for really sort of building in that habit of having to pay something every month," he said.

Residents usually spend eight to 18 months in the transitional units.

He says many aresuccessful in paying their monthly feeand thenfinding permanent housing,estimating a success rate of65 to70 per cent.

But the value of transitional homes, Maddox said, isabout both success and failure.

"For that 35 per cent that fail, what we do is, they don't get a 30-day [eviction notice], it doesn't go through the landlord act, and it doesn't go through a whole bunch of rigmarole," he said.

"We move them out of the transitional space, we put them back in the shelter and we start again on the continuum it doesn't create a negative impact on them. It doesn't burn a landlord, they don't end up with a black mark on their name."

The home on York Street was named after the late Anna Goddard, Maddox said.

"[Her husband] Frank wanted to do something to really sort of remember her and to leave a little bit of a legacy," he said.

"Wonderful family, really, really wonderful. Engaged in Fredericton and have been for years and years. Frank is a retired engineer, and just a really wonderful soul that has done a lot for the city everything from arts to homelessness."