N.L. will 'step up' to implement new shelter standards, Fred Hutton says

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has released a new set of standards that will apply to all emergency shelters that receive government funding, in the wake of concerns raised about conditions in some private operations.

Housing Minister Fred Hutton told reporters Thursday morning that putting those standards in place could come with a big price tag.

"I can tell you the cost is going to be significant," Hutton said. "And obviously the provincial government is going to step up because it's an investment in people. And that's what we're doing here."

The minister stressed that government officials are going to work with shelter providers, as that process unfolds.

The completion of shelter standards has been long awaited — but there may now be another wait for them to come into effect.

"I'm not going to give you a specific time," Hutton told reporters. "We're going to look at it."

He added that he had only received the final report on Wednesday.

The standards focus on the importance of lowering the barriers to shelter access and on providing support.

There is also an emphasis on basic needs and services, and training for staff, according to the consultant who developed them.

"A large part of the standards will also focus in on things like health and safety," said Tracy Flaherty-Willmott, associate director of OrgCode Consulting.

"It will be really clear that as we sort of look at lowering barriers, we're also being really clear: low barrier doesn't mean no barrier. There's still expectations around how we treat one another in congregate settings."

Tracy Flaherty-Willmott of OrgCode Consulting, which developed the standards after a series of consultations, says they focus on lowering barriers to shelter access and on providing support. (Darryl Murphy/CBC)

Last year, CBC News used access-to-information legislation to reveal a litany of concerns about conditions inside some for-profit private shelters, including a lack of food, violence, and uncleanliness.

The minister says there will now be consequences for not meeting the new standards.

"We won't use the shelters," Hutton said.

But what if the province needs the space?

"We'd go to a hotel situation," he said.

Hutton said the need has increased exponentially, with more than 400 people in shelters this week. That number has more than quadrupled in the past three years.

A former hotel on Airport Road in St. John's has become a supportive-housing facility, with the goal of helping people move from homelessness into temporary accommodations and on to permanent housing. (Danny Arsenault/CBC)

He said the province has taken a number of initiatives to address housing and homelessness issues, pointing to the launch of a transitional supportive-living initiative at a former hotel on Airport Road in St. John's.

The province is partnering with End Homelessness St. John's, which is overseeing operations there.

"We have a phased plan where we're helping folks move in 25 at a time," said Doug Pawson, executive director of End Homelessness St. John's.

"We reached our first target in two months."

Pawson said they've worked to develop a process to triage people from the shelter system over to Airport Road.

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