I deal more on the front lines with emergencies and more drastic situations, where they have nowhere to go and haven't eaten for two days. We're the sort of last stop before sleeping outside, eating at the soup kitchen, or trying to feel comfortable taking a shower. We offer those kinds of things--to make yourself a bowl of soup or lunch or something, or provide clean clothes for your children.
In Fredericton we see people from all the reserves throughout the province or all different rural areas, whether they're from Moncton, Big Cove, Woodstock, or wherever. But again--it's the complaint of our national group--the province doesn't really acknowledge what we do and how we help people, whether they go back to their communities or not. So we help the homeless, those at risk of being homeless, and the youth. We're seeing a lot more transient men now, so we have a big men's program happening.
But we're working on air and trying to provide.... I do 20 different programs and have a limited number of staff. We're burning the candle at both ends. We don't know where to turn now. We need more money. We have a lot of homeless people, and there is no acknowledgement what the friendship centre does for people living in Fredericton. We don't have that.