St. Stephen residents and council form groups to address crime, drug use, homelessness

"Safe neighbourhoods. Authentic people. A warm spirit."

That's how the town of St. Stephen describes itself on the municipal website.

But some residents feel their town needs to be "taken back."

"We want to see crackdowns, we want to see arrests, we want to see less people getting addicted to drugs in our community, so something needs to be done there," said resident Brent MacPherson, adding that locals have seen a rash of thefts.

That's why he's helped start a group called Take Back Our Town, aimed at raising awareness and calling for action to combat what he said are issues with drugs and homelessness in St. Stephen.

"People won't walk as much in our community, they're concerned and scared. And that's a terrible way to be," said MacPherson.

"We have people living homeless with addictions, with mental health issues. We're a rural area with a very big lack of services," he said.

MacPherson said his group is not vigilante, right-wing or anti-police — they're just calling for more support for affordable housing and addictions treatment.

"We're in crisis on all these issues," MacPherson said.

Town creating safety committee

St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern said residents' concerns over drug use, homelessness and crime are valid and the town is "looking for answers."

"Is it new to St. Stephen? Yes. And that's one of our bigger struggles for sure," said MacEachern in an interview with Information Morning Saint John.

He said he couldn't put a number on how many homeless people are living in his community, but guessed it could be around 100. He also said they are often unnoticed because they are couch surfing, or living in wooded areas just outside town.

The Municipal District of St. Stephen will be forming a safety committee with the goal of "learning, educating and taking action," said MacEachern. "We're going to sit down and learn together, try to build something that works and share what works with other communities."

MacEachern said the committee will hopefully include representatives from police, mental health support, and the province, but he was unsure if anyone with lived experience with homelessness or drug addiction would be part of the group.

"We've tried to bring in the most diverse group of people we can get, with different values to bring to the table ... 'cause not everyone knows everything, so you put all those heads together hopefully we can get us into a better position."

MacEachern said contributing factors include the economy and mental health issues. He added that the challenges the town is facing are not just St. Stephen issues, but ones that are happening across the country.

"We need to deal with St. Stephen. If we all don't take care of our St. Stephens out there, then we'll never get anywhere," MacEachern said. "We've got to all work together, country-wide."

He did not specify what actions the committee hopes to take, but that it could result in at least two or three action plans.

'We need a shelter,' says food bank director

Emily Muir is the community services director at the Volunteer Centre of Charlotte County, which oversees the St. Stephen Food Bank.

She said the numbers of homeless people using the food bank are up across the board, including families who were once considered above the poverty level but have struggled with rising costs of living.

"We are seeing a spike in numbers all around," Muir said.

She said at one time the homeless population in town "was almost non-existent," but the food bank now serves at least 25 regular clients every day.

She said a lot of the challenges her clients face could be addressed if St. Stephen had a shelter. 

At one time, she could see why a shelter wasn't necessary, "but now, undoubtedly, there's no questions asked. We need a shelter," said Muir.

She said she would like to see a shelter that has beds, meals, security, addictions support and social services.

Pointing to an increase in meth and fentanyl in town, she said those kinds of narcotics have people up for days and "not in the right headspace," which can lead to theft and crime.

Muir said she's not excusing criminal behaviour, but that there is not enough support for some of the people who are committing the crimes.

"If there was a shelter in our town … they wouldn't be going into yards and doing the things that they're doing to stay alive and find a place to live and to support their habits, right?" Muir said.

And she said it's important not to label all people who are experiencing homelessness as criminals.

"I see them here and they're very respectful, and they just couldn't be any more forward with their cry for help," Muir said.

"I've already met with several people, clients of mine in here, who have taken the steps to get help and they're told it's months of waiting. It's months."