As housing demand grows, N.L. Housing eyes emergency shelter in Corner Brook area

Sheltered, a CBC Investigates series, examines the housing crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador telling the stories of the people living it, while scrutinizing the policies and politics behind it.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation issued a request for proposals Thursday for a minimum 30-bed low-barrier emergency shelter in the Corner Brook area, citing a spike in the number of clients in need on Newfoundland's west coast.

The provincial government has not yet publicly announced plans for a shelter in the region, but posted the plan on a procurement website for RFPs, tenders and contracts.

The request for proposals comes on the heels of a CBC News report last week on the growing number of individuals being housed in hotels and for-profit shelters at a cost of over $5.2 million in one year.

"The successful proponent will work with clients on a daily basis to provide shelter service and will engage government and community resources to address challenging behaviours without banning or excluding clients from the shelter," the document says.

Low-barrier emergency shelter programs operateon the premise that a person can't be turned away because of substance use disorder, criminal convictions or other factors, and acknowledges that drug and alcohol use are a part of people's lives.

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The operator can't close the door on clients who are under the influence or appear unwilling to participate in employment or programming.

Low-barrier shelters do have the ability, however, to limit drug and alcohol use in common or shared spaces within the facility.

According to the RFP, proponents must submit a plan to accommodate a minimum of 30 peopleandhave the ability to support 12 hours of overnight operation.It notes thatadditional capacity in excess of 40 will also be considered.

"Low-barrier shelters require supportive policies and a more diversified and specialized staffing model than traditional shelters especially in regards to operations, case management, and de-escalation and/or security services," the RFP says.

The document from the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corp. says single men over 40 years old are the most frequent users of the shelter system.

During a point-in-time check in July 2020, the corporation found there were 78 people living in shelter in all of Newfoundland and Labrador, including 55 men and 23 women.

By September of this year, that number grew to 338provincially, 34 of them in the western region.

On Newfoundland's west coast, thenumber of those sheltered hasmore than tripled in just 15 months.

"While numbers have grown over the last year, demographics within the shelter system have largely remained the same," the RFP notes.

Numbers obtained by CBC News through access-to-information legislation show hotels and private operators have filled a significant gap in the province.

The province paid more than $167,000 in 2022 for emergency shelter in Stephenville. Five hotels in Corner Brook were paid more than $280,000 and two hotels in Deer Lake took in more than$33,000.

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