As fire claims 2 more lives at Saint John encampment, first tenants arrive at shipping container shelters

Matthew Tobias's new shelter is basic and cramped: an 8 X 10 plywood box inside a beige shipping container. 

"Just four walls, a roof, a door, a window," Tobias said. But with heat, a fire extinguisher and a fire alarm, it's better than the makeshift camp he lived in before, on the side of Highway 1 between Saint John and Rothesay. 

"My camp was the same size, same layout. But this is a step in a different direction than what I was." 

Tobias is one of the lucky ones.

On Monday, two people were pronounced dead after a fire at an encampment less than a kilometre away on Paradise Row — the third deaths in Saint John in 2024 after Evan McArthur was fatally burned at a fire near the same site in January.

Another Saint Johner, Jamie Langille, lost his leg to frostbite. Other New Brunswickers without housing have died this winter in St. Stephen and Fredericton.

Tobias, 36, grew up partying and having fun "in the country" in Grand Bay, he said, but became addicted to alcohol and other substances.

He dreams of getting into "an actual place, not even in the city. I'd like to have my son, the mother of my son, a house. A place where everything could be good."

Until he's able to do that, however, he — and 13 others — are living in temporary shipping-container shelters at 110-128 Waterloo St.

The site was formerly a large tent encampment, which was cleaned up and dismantled in mid-March.

"People are trying to do better for themselves," Tobias said. "There are people out here that want the help to get out of here."

Local non-profit Kaleidoscope Social Impact and other community groups installed the six modified containers at a total cost of $150,000. Each has two tiny units with limited electricity, and basic furniture.

"People are safe, secure and in shelter," said Kaleidoscope founder Seth Asimakos. "We want to help people get to a better place. This is a better way to do it than what was happening here on this site before." 

Fresh Start Services are onsite 15 to 25 hours a week, meeting with residents and handing out snacks, coffee and support from a tiny office.