Local minister steps in while county homeless shelter faces emergency – again

Two executive directors have left Transition House within a year. Three key board members have also left. This includes the chair and vice-chair stepping away within the past few months. The fiscal year-end is quickly approaching. And it is still winter and very cold out as the unsheltered try to survive. Into this mixture steps Rev. Neil Ellis, minister of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church and a vocal advocate for housing and homelessness. He is now the interim executive director. Two other high-profile people were named to the board: Meghan MacDonald, Habitat for Humanity Northumberland executive director, and Alison Lester, a lawyer, and former Liberal candidate in the last federal election. In a press release last week, the announcement says the board is undertaking an emergency stabilization strategy in response to these changes and more. This is not the first time. It closed in 2017 after a violent incident for 10 months. Ellis will describe what is happening and its impacts on the homeless and the community.