Bridgewater’s mayor says a downtown drop-in centre run by the John Howard Society has not lived up to its intended purpose and is contributing to mounting problems on King Street.
Cedar Place opened in 2024 with the promise of offering showers, laundry, and reintegration supports to help people returning from incarceration along with other people in need of support.
Mayor David Mitchell says the town supported that concept because these kinds of services are important and necessary. But he argues that is not how the facility is working in practice.
Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell.
Photo: CKBW Archives.
“Instead of being a place where people can get the help they need, it has become more of a hangout,” he said. “And through all that, we’ve seen an increase in issues, not just at that corner, but expanding throughout the town.”
Mitchell stressed that Bridgewater is not opposed to addiction or mental health services, pointing to other drop-ins and shelters in town that have integrated well and been good neighbours.
The problem, he said, is the way Cedar Place is currently being run and its location in the downtown core, near schools and the river.
A drowning in the river earlier this summer has added to concerns about safety.
The mayor listed drug use, intimidation, theft, vandalism, and catcalling as some of the issues that have escalated since the centre opened.
Business owners have provided sales data showing declines, and residents have told the town they no longer feel comfortable in the area.
The town has already acted by revoking Cedar Place’s property tax exemption, changing zoning rules, and meeting repeatedly with the society, downtown businesses, and provincial officials.
Police continue to patrol the area, but Mitchell says it’s not fair for taxpayers to absorb the cost of extra enforcement tied to one facility.
“As a municipality we’ve essentially used all the tools in our toolbox to solve this,” Mitchell said. “The levers of change now rest with the John Howard Society and the provincial government.”
He warned that without change, years of investment and hard work to revitalize King Street could be undone. “Without change, all that gets undone — not just town and provincial funding, but the blood, sweat and tears of the business owners and property owners downtown.”
Mitchell is now calling on the John Howard Society to take ownership of the problems and for the province which provides some of the society’s funding and holds the building mortgage — to step in if necessary.
He says the need for support is clear, but the way Cedar Place is currently operating is not acceptable.
The John Howard Society did not respond to our request for comment by the time of publication.
