Drugs, cold claim nine lives so far this year

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At least nine people from the streets of downtown Moncton have died so far this year, seven of them from drug overdoses, say support workers for aid organizations.

“When you hear about famous celebrities who pass away due to substance disorders, there’s a large outcry of support, and that happens on a much smaller scale here in Moncton when someone dies,” Shannon Barry, senior director of community outreach for the YMCA’s Reconnect program, said Tuesday. “The losses are felt very deeply in the community with the people that we work with. It’s very tragic and often preventable, like accidental overdose.”

Barry said that nine individuals are known to have died, seven of them from drug overdoses, but there could be more because there are some homeless people who are living in camps or cars outside the downtown core.

On Dec. 18, at Moncton City Council’s last meeting of the year, Marc Belliveau, representing the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee, read the names of 55 people who had died during 2023, either from overdoses or other causes.

Barry and others who work with the homeless daily say there are toxic drugs on the streets that are mixed with unknown substances and can cause them to lose consciousness and overdose.

The black van of the YMCA Reconnect team and the white van used by the Salvus Clinic are commonly seen at the Bridge to Home Hub on St. George Street, the shelter operated by the John Howard Society. The mobile units make the rounds to shelters and also the people who refuse to go to the shelters.

Last week, the director of the Salvus Clinic appeared before Moncton City Council asking for support to keep the mobile unit going. The Salvus Clinic provided health care, housing support  and other services for the city’s at-risk population at a downtown location until last November, and has not yet been able to find a new location.

The YMCA team works to help people get photo identification, which is a necessity to apply for social assistance and housing. But the shortage of housing makes it difficult for support agencies to find space for people.

“There’s also a lot of hidden homelessness and youth homelessness, people who are couch-surfing and in unsafe situations. There are people who are staying outside and don’t want to go to shelters are moving out of the downtown core and into the woods to avoid detection and harassment,” Barry said.

“There are people who are in (drug) recovery programs who don’t want to go to the shelters because of fear of relapsing. We try to address whatever the barrier is to staying safe and ideally being housed, but we also try to reduce the harm for folks who are staying outside while they are working toward their housing goals,” Barry said.

While housing is major goal for those living on the streets, the Humanity Project was able to fill 21 bunkhouses at its farm in Little River and now there’s a waiting list. The bunkhouses at the farm were constructed late last year thanks to funding of $310,000 from the City of Moncton and more than $1.2 million from the province for additional support to help get people off the streets, into housing and counselling for long-term rehabilitation.

“It’s almost overwhelming now because there are so many people waiting for help or that want help,” said Charlie Burrell, director of the Humanity Project. “People have to go to rehab before they can get on the list, so this is inspiring them to get clean and sober and change their life because they see other people doing it. If I had another 20, 40, 60 bunkhouses, I’d have them full. When I see how people are doing on the farm, it’s exceeding my expectations by 100 per cent.”

Frostbite or fentanyl?

While 21 homes have been created at the farm, Burrell said there are people dying on the streets because of frostbite or drugs like fentanyl. According to unofficial figures, 12 people died in 2021, 22 in 2022, 55 in 2023 and nine so far in 2024. Burrell said drugs like fentanyl – a highly addictive synthetic opiate – are being sold on the streets for as little as $10 per hit. But he said these drugs are being mixed with other dangerous chemicals that can result in instant overdoses. He said there have been cases where people have gotten a whiff of second-hand smoke from a fentanyl-laced cigarette and then showed signs of an overdose.

Burrell said people who have been priced out of their homes because of rising rents often stay away from shelters because they are afraid of being assaulted or having their last possessions stolen. Those who choose to stay out in the cold often suffer from frostbite. The Humanity Project serves several hundred meals per day from its headquarters on St. George Street, and says items like hats, gloves and hand warmers are needed to provide a bit of help. The Humanity Project is also looking for donations of musical instruments and exercise equipment for use at the farm in Little River.