Community hubs are not just a benefit—they’re a lifeline.

Saint John NB - Saint John the Baptist-King Edward (SJBKE) school, one of two south-end Saint John schools that will be decommissioned and replaced by a new-build school at Rainbow Park is more than a K-8 school.

“We are the community hub in the south end,” says Benjamin Gillcrist, Community School Coordinator at SJBKE. “To support our vulnerable neighbourhood population, our school is open 7 days a week, in the early mornings and into the evenings, and all summer long.”

Many low socio-economic-status families living in vulnerable neighbourhoods do not have access to vehicles, and may also face other challenges accessing the services they need. Childcare, professional health and wellness services, and even basic needs like food can be difficult to source.

“In-school community hubs are within walking distance for families who live in these neighbourhoods, and are a trusted source of wrap-around support services from not-for-profit community organisations, health care professionals and visiting specialists,” sats Monica Chaperlin, Executive Director of the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) in Saint John.

The heart of the community hub at SJBKE is Gillcrist’s office-slash-community room, a half-classroom-sized area that serves as a meeting space, a programming zone, and a storage facility for used clothing and non-perishable food items that are regularly parcelled out to children and their families.

But that’s just part of the story.

“Our community hub is fully integrated into our school,” says Gillcrist. “In the mornings we host a YMCA-run early-learning program for 60-70 pre-K children; at lunchtime we have the Lunch Connection program, which is run out of our industrial kitchen: and in the afternoons and evenings we host the Boys and Girls Club, who run a mentoring program, an after school program, and The Night Centre - where older kids can come in and use the gym.”

“Every day varies according to the needs of our kids and our neighbourhood,” says Gillcrist. “In the morning I’m working on getting breakfast out to the classrooms, then I could be into event planning, grant writing, working with partner organisations for special programming for families or maybe new moms, getting kids enrolled into our summer camps, and more.”

Regular users of these hubs become accustomed to going there for support. They build trusting and positive relationships with the service providers there, which may be something they don’t have in their homes or neighbourhood.

“Eventually, these families and children begin to see the community hub, and by extension the school as a whole, as safe spaces,” says Chaperlin. “This positive relationship generates improved outcomes with respect to education, health, wellbeing, and employment, that will benefit these families for the rest of their lives.”

In 2020, the Human Development Council measured the child poverty rate in the catchment area for SJBKE at 65.9%. This compares starkly to New Brunswick’s overall child poverty rate of 21.8%.

“It can be difficult for the public to understand what daily life is like for families and children who live in deep poverty,” says Chaperlin. “Schools alone simply cannot cope with the demands of concentrated poverty. Our families depend on these hubs, and their many community partners, to ensure their children are getting the resources they need to succeed in school. Simply put, community hubs are not just a benefit - they’re a lifeline for these children and their families.”