Saint John's Safe Harbour youth shelter to reopen in March

Windfall gifts from a family trust with connections to Saint John's west side will help reopen the city's Safe Harbour youth shelter, but not untilMarch, according to theAnglican Diocese of Fredericton.

"We'd been praying a lot," said BishopDavid Edwards, whose diocese encompasses Saint John.

The money is connected to the estate of Dorothy Wilkes, who died at the age of 100 on Jan.25, 2015, at the Church of St. John and St. Stephen nursing home.

She was the last living relative to be supported by a trust fund set up by Gordon Bartlett, who emigrated to Hawaii in the 1920s.

Wilkes bequeathed $5.5 million to the diocese, according to a report by diocesan treasurer Irene Adams.

There's also an estimated $50,000 USper year annuity that will be paid in perpetuity, which the diocese has decided to allocate to Safe Harbour.

The 10-bed shelter was shuttered in January 2016, a year after Wilke's death, after a lien was put on the property.

Wilkes' family trust made it possible to pay off the debts, said the bishop, who never met the benefactors.

"We've mortgaged ourselves," Edwards explained.

The diocese wrote a cheque for $642,000 a couple of weeks ago, he said. The annuity will be used to pay that money back over time.

Stability creates opportunities

On Thursday, CBC News followed Edwards through the building that's been sitting vacant for months.

It was heated and filled with natural light, but eerily quiet with no teenagers or staff on site.

If they're spending all day trying to find a place to stay at night, then there's very little stability.- David Edwards, bishop

Edwards says the purpose of the shelter is to provide more care than a one-night reprieve from the streets.

"A young person who's homeless or on the edge of homelessness, one of their issues is,'How do I stabilize my life?'" said Edwards.

"And if they're spending all day trying to find a place to stay at night, then there's very little stability."

"So the very essence of this place is OK, we provide a place to sleep, aplace to be cared for, aplace to begin to build family.And that begins to build stability."

With stability comes other opportunities, such as education, said Edwards.

More details 'expected soon'

Edwards says Partners for Youth will provide the ministry and help run the staffing, he said.

Buton Thursday, Partners for Youth CEO John Sharpe said he couldn't reveal many details before an official announcement later this month.

Sharpe said he had recently returned from Toronto to see how similar facilities operate there.

CBC News reached out to the Department of Social Development requesting more information about the province's financial commitment to Safe Harbour.

A communications officer emailed back with a brief statement:"The Department of Social Development recognizes the need for transitional housing for youth in the Saint John area and continues to work towards a solution. A more detailed announcement is expected soon."

Safe Harbourhasa big kitchen area for meals. Each bedroom has a bed, a closet and sink, and between every two rooms, there's a fuller bathroom with a shower.