MONCTON, NB—A fire that caused extensive damage to a Moncton men’s shelter in early November is being hailed as a blessing in disguise.

Early the morning of November 2, Harvest House Ministries director Cal Maskery received a phone call that Harvest’s men’s residence was in flames. He rushed to the scene to find a back shed and the second floor ablaze.

All 16 men who had been sleeping in the house were safely outside, awakened by a passing motorist who saw flames shooting from the roof of the attached shed and called 911.

Although the first floor of the ministry received little damage, the second floor needs major repair. An upstairs kitchen was completely destroyed and four bedrooms received smoke damage.

Police determined the fire to be an act of arson and a suspect is in police custody.

Maskery says the man had been evicted from the residence at the beginning of October for refusing to comply with rules forbidding drug use while in residence. He is currently being held on breach of probation charges, but at press time no formal charges concerning the fire had been laid.

The Red Cross helped to house the men temporarily displaced by the blaze, until they could move back into Harvest House facilities.

Although initially upset about the fire, Maskery says those working with the ministry have quickly come to see it as an opportunity to initiate a new area of ministry—a Christ-centred, longer-term recovery centre for those needing to break the cycle of addiction.

Harvest House already has a drop-in centre, a men’s shelter intended for one or two-night stays, a men’s residence accommodating 16 men for longer periods, a residence for 12 women and two four-unit apartments for young couples or small single- parent families.

Although a recovery centre was in the plans, the fire confirmed the urgency of the need, Maskery says. “We are more convinced than ever that we need this. After the fire, we thought ‘Now is the best time to do this. The house is empty.’”

Harvest House is now remodeling the second floor of the men’s residence into a 30 to 90-day treatment and recovery centre for eight men. They hope to open by the first of January.

While most of the renovation is covered by insurance, the ministry needs to quickly raise $10,000 for its share of the costs.

The fire has had other good outcomes—including increased awareness of Harvest House locally and across the Maritimes. Since the fire, the ministry has received help from the local food bank and the Red Cross, as well as donations of kitchen supplies, living room furniture, bedding, money and much more.

“It seems a God-given coincidence that we declared November ‘Homeless Initiative Month’ and that one day into November, the fire drew immediate awareness in the local and Christian community to the homelessness issue,” says Maskery.

Harvest House Ministries also has drop-in centres with housing shelters in Summerside and Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and in North Sydney, Glace Bay and Windsor, Nova Scotia. They hope to open others in Grand Manan and McAdam, New Brunswick in the near future.