Paul Vanderlaan, a member of the Pictou County Shelter Steering Committee, recently toured Harvest House in Moncton, New Brunswick to determine if it was a right fit for the county.
Paul Vanderlaan, a member of the Pictou County Shelter Steering Committee, recently toured Harvest House in Moncton, New Brunswick to determine if it was a right fit for the county.
“After much debate on whether to form a shelter in association with Harvest House Shelter or to create a totally independent stand alone shelter, the committee decided they had reached an impasse on how to best proceed as three have voted "Yes" to Harvest House and three have voted "No" and to go independently,” he said. “ The steering committee has reached an impasse as to whether the shelter should be Christian faith based only or all religions included in the operation of the new shelter. “
The shelter steering committee was struck after it was announced in October the LifeShelter would not reopen. The emergency winter shelter cared for approximately 30 different people each season for various lengths of stay since it opened five years ago on Marsh Street, New Glasgow. It also offered a community breakfast program that served 30 to 60 people on any given morning. Declining membership at the host church, financial pressures and the recent resignation of its pastor were listed as contributing reasons.
“We, as a steering committee, would like the residents of Pictou County to know that the foundation of this community project needs to be started from a solid foundation so that generations to come may utilize this shelter in the future should the residents of Pictou County find themselves in need of assistance,” said Vanderlaan. “These issues that have created an impasse, need to be answered by the community in order for the Shelter to move forward in a positive direction for Pictou County. “
He said the steering committee plans to hold a community meeting in January to seek input and to create a new steering committee. A meeting time and place will be announced in the near future because the shelter needs community support from the ground up.
The new steering committee will need to be elected with a maximum of seven people and minimum of five for voting purposes to move forward with this project.
