NL Housing Minister Paul Pike says staff members have met with a group of people who have set up camp outside Confederation Building seeking action on access to affordable housing.

Among those at the site are people who say the shelter system isn’t working for them, and that all they want is an affordable place that is warm, safe and comfortable.

Pike says staff have met with those camped out across from Confederation Building, “just to see if there’s anything that we could do, let them know the programs that are available, and let them know that the help is there if they want it.”

Pike wouldn’t say if the province has a housing crisis, but he did acknowledge that more housing is needed.

He says a roof over a person’s head is essential to allowing any growth. He says government is committed to finding safe homes for those who need it, “and then we can start to work on other issues, like finding work and so on.”