Saint John – The Union representing Group Home workers in the Saint John area is worried about the lack of adequate funding and staffing in these homes.
“The lack of funding is causing serious retention problems in the non-profit group homes in the Saint John area,” explained Laurie Mackay, President of CUPE Local 4569 - New Directions, Inc.
“We recently met with the Saint John area Liberal MLA and the Minister of Social Development, Mary Schreyer, to explain how badly the situation in the homes is,” explained McKay.
“Due to the lack of staff and appropriate funding, there has been an increase of staff turnover. Those who decided to stay have more than one job. The staff members are tired. Also, there is an inconsistent rate of pay for human service workers across the province even if we all have similar duties.”
“Recently, the lack of staff has lead to the closure of one of our homes by the Department of Social Development. This forced the residents into unsafe environments, which causes great concern for their well-being,” said McKay.
“We are asking the government to commit to funding these homes appropriately”, concluded McKay.
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