Rising Tide gives up on medical clinic, focuses on more apartments with more support

Dale Hicks, chair of the Rising Tide Board, admits the past month has been frustrating.

Plans to build a combined medical clinic and 20-unit apartment building to serve the "hardest" cases in the city have been sidelined after losing the Salvus Clinic as a partner.

At a public update on Monday, Hicks said the not-for-profit is no longer focused on the medical clinic project and instead is trying to offer as much housing as possible, with as much support as possible.

By the end of March, Rising Tide will have 87 apartments for people experiencing homelessness or fleeing domestic violence.

Rising Tide had provided housing for 74 people by the end of 2022, according to the update, with half of those residents coming from shelters.

Hicks said of that number, there's an eviction rate of just around 10 percent.

"Getting evicted from Rising Tide, I always say is something you really have to work at," he said.

"A lot of drug addiction" is a big part of the problem. "I don't know if I'd use the word shocked, but pretty close. The amount of drugs that are involved in this project with the individuals that we're trying to house, it's a big issue," Hicks said.

Support services critical

Since Rising Tide admitted its first tenants in December 2021, Hicks has learned that the higher the needs, the more support is needed to keep people housed.

"It's support services that make the difference," he said. "Rising Tide and community partners do have some level of support services, but they're not adequate enough to achieve the results that we hoped."

Progressive Conservative MLAs Daniel Allain and Greg Turner were at the Rising Tide update. Both pointed to the recent appointment of Jill Green as the minister responsible for housing as proof the government is taking the complex issues of homelessness and affordable housing seriously. 

"We are working on it," said Allain. "Greater Moncton is on our radar."

Turner agreed that there is a great need for more mental health and addiction services and predicted there would be funding in Tuesday's budget.

"I think we'll see significant news in that department so it won't just be left up to the non-profits. Government will be doing their fair share of contributing to the needs of New Brunswickers."

Beyond Housing fund launched

Hicks said while the government works on its plan, Rising Tide continues to look for new ways to help its vulnerable tenants who need support to remain housed.

At Monday's update, he announced the Beyond Housing Fund in response to many people who ask him how they can help.

"We're trying to expand our level of support services." Hicks said. "We have case managers and social workers and human services counsellors, and we hope to get a nurse here shortly, who [will] work with the individuals in the Rising Tide properties to try to deal with some of their issues and keep them housed."

All money donated to the fund will go to hire and expand those support services.

The first donation of $10,000 came from a Moncton group called 100 Men Who Care. Members meet four times each year and donate $100 per meeting. At each meeting, three not-for-profits make a presentation, and at the most recent meeting Rising Tide was voted as the group they would support.

Hicks plans to be in Fredericton when the budget is released on Tuesday. 

"It's going to take significant investment from the government," he said of solving homelessness and providing the support that is needed for housing, mental health and addiction.

"We're paying for a lot of Band-Aids right now. Now, without the Band-Aids we'd have a real mess, but you know we need more than [that]."