A resident of Horizons 106 says people still living at the facility are being “left in the dark” as the closure of the program nears.
Gracie Smith, who has been living in the former hotel near the airport for the last two years, told VOCM Open Line with Brian Callahan that residents are getting next to no information about what’s next.
She says residents dread heading back into the shelter system. They want answers.
“I have no clue where I will be living. I’ve been trying to get a meeting with NL Housing, who are supposed to be in the building at least once a week – which they haven’t been – for a month now.”
She says the staff have been “amazing” trying to fill residents in as best they can, but they don’t have a lot of information either.
Smith says there are just over 40 people still living in the former hotel, many of whom have mental health or addictions issues – some with disabilities who require 24-hour care.
A tent encampment at the site of the old Grace hospital in St. John’s in 2024 (VOCM News)
She’s concerned that people will end up in tent encampments as winter draws near.
“That’s where it’s headed,” worries Smith. “People up here are more afraid of ending up back in the shelter system that we all fought so hard to get out of, and break the cycle. They’re more afraid of that then ending up in a tent in winter.”
