Saint John youth shelter gets ready to open doors under new leadership

The new operators of Saint John's youth shelter, Safe Harbour, are advertising for staff as they get ready to reopen the doors on March 1.

The non-profit Partners for Youth have already hired two full-time social workers and are advertising for both full-time and casual youth workers for the 10-bed shelter.

John Sharpe, the CEO of Partners for Youth, said it is difficult to know exactly how many support staff will be needed to operate the 24-hour shelter. He estimates six more employees are needed.

"Obviously, we're interested in folks that have a background working with youth," Sharpe said. "That could include education, social work, youth work itself, human services."

"We like a real wide variety of staff to work within our agency, and so our recruitment process is fairly varied."

The hiring process is thorough, with potential staff undergoing a number of record and background checks to make sure they are right for the job.

Other changes

The south end shelter hadn't been open a year before it closed in January because of financial problems. A lien had been placed on the property.

This time, the shelter will be run with an emphasis on social work and will be managed from Partners for Youth's office in Fredericton.

"The staff that we hire are front-line staff that are going to be doing the work," Sharpe said, "Rather than worrying about raising money or all the logistical nightmares that go along with running an organization."

But a lot of fundraising still needs to be done. The provincial government has committed to providing $225,000 in operational funding, but Partners for Youth has been working to raise the remaining $100,000 required.

The organization has also been studying similar shelters that have stood the test of time in Toronto area to see what they could do to make the shelter in Saint John more sustainable. Part of that involves having the young residents help each other.

"We want to have youth helping with other, youth who are coming in," Sharpe said. "If we have youth who have been in for an extended period of time and are doing well, we want to make sure they are leaders for other young folks coming in."

Windfall donation

The Archdiocese of Fredericton announced in November that Safe Harbour would reopen after a windfall donation to the diocese from the estate of a west side family.

The money is connected to the estate of Dorothy Wilkes, who died at 100 on Jan. 25, 2015, at the Church of St. John and St. Stephen nursing home.

She was the last living relative to be supported by a trust fund set up by Gordon Bartlett, who emigrated to Hawaii in the 1920s.

Wilkes bequeathed $5.5 million to the diocese, according to a report by diocesan treasurer Irene Adams.

There's also an estimated US$50,000 per year annuity that will be paid in perpetuity, which the diocese has decided to allocate to Safe Harbour.