The new executive director of the Gathering Place says he’s been struck by the impact the work happening there is having on some of the province’s most vulnerable people.
Retired Deputy Chief of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Colin McNeil took over at the Gathering Place after Paul Davis stepped down following nearly five years at the helm.
The Gathering Place (VOCM News)
McNeil says people are increasingly turning to the Gathering Place to have their basic needs met as the price of groceries, power and housing continues to rise.
He says the need is so great, they’re in the unfortunate position of having to turn some people away.
He says they’re serving 600 meals a day, with more than 3200 registered guests. He calls the facility a “true community health centre offering services like dental care, health services, meals, and a warm place to stay. “It needs to expand; we don’t want to turn people away.”
McNeil is replacing Davis, who is a former police officer and served as premier from 2014 to 2015. He believes his policing career is an asset.
He says the guests at Gathering Place have been very welcoming.
“What can I bring to the role as a former police officer? Understanding a trauma-informed, harm reduction approach, the de-escalation on the policing side, it’s kind of all intertwined with some of the same concepts.”
“It’s not lost on me that those challenges may exist, and when they will, we’ll get through them together, collectively.”
