People without homes in St. Stephen now have a place to get out of the cold this winter. The Lighthouse Lodge opened for business in the former Masonic Hall on Main Street about a week before Christmas, with the mercury dropping to below freezing.
      Showers and laundry are up and running, but work continues on the kitchen, according to Neighbourhood Works Inc. Executive Director Jim Stuart.
      Neighbourhood Works, a community nonprofit, bought the former lodge hall and hired contractors to turn it into an out of the-cold center for this winter and then have it continue as a year round center offering programs to help people with addictions, mental health and other issues get back on their feet.
      The center has 20 regular plus 10 overflow beds, room for as many as 30 people a night, and is open around the clock. It is a "wet" shelter, meaning that people inebriated or high on drugs will be accepted. The center operates on a "harm reduction" model.
      Estimates of the number of people "living rough" in the St. Stephen area range as high as 100. Neighbourhood Works ran temporary out of the cold shelters for the past two winters, serving 74 individuals the first year, 61 in the second. Neighbourhood Works intended these shelters as temporary measures, responding to a crisis in the community in each case.
      By opening the Lighthouse Lodge, the organization hopes to provide longer term approaches to the problem of homelessness in this community. This winter it will be open around the clock to anyone who needs a warm and dry place, offering meals, laundry and other services. When the warm weather returns, the center will continue offering longer term support, aiming to reduce the need for an out of the cold center in the years ahead.
      The original aim to open Lighthouse Lodge by December 1 proved overly optimistic but, at least, the center opened by Christmas, just as winter weather began to set in. Night time temperatures have dropped below minus 100C -- about plus 150F -- in recent days, without rising to above freezing during daytime.
      Stuart thanks the community, neighbours and government for support with this project. Neighbourhood Works is working with the provincial government on programs and services for unsheltered people in St. Stephen. He states, "There is not enough I can say about the support we have received from many of our businesses and the community. Along with legitimate concerns, homelessness is not pretty, it is scary for neighbours and the public. With a permanent space there is greater chance of success. Individuals will have basic needs taken care of, housing and food; this will result in having the opportunity to focus on other health issues without having to just survive."