Garcelon Civic Center staff facing issues of harassment and disruption by a group of students

Staff at the Garcelon Civic Center in St. Stephen say there has been increased harassment by a group of students who have been causing alleged vandalism and disruption. 

“The last few weeks at the civic centre have been quite a struggle for the staff,” said Michelle Vest, speaking on behalf of Community Services Director Kev Sumner who was away at a conference. “We’ve had a lot of issues with vandalism, staff harassment, profanity, harassment of clients on the upper third floor.” 

Vest said it is the same group of students creating the issues for the civic centre – a recreation and community hub in the Municipal District of St. Stephen. 

“We are currently working with the high school and the RCMP to try and get this addressed,” she said at the meeting. “Because we can’t continue to go over on our budget lines and hire security to deal with it.” 

She said the centre does have enough staff to deal with the “rather large group” of young people causing the issues. A lot of the time staff has been trying to keep the facility safe, especially for the students using the building. 

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Vest explained letters have been sent in conjunction with the school home to parents indicating that the child named would be barred from coming to the civic centre. 

Jessica Hanlon, the communications director for the Anglophone South School District, confirmed to CHCO-TV in an email they are aware of issues at the Garcelon Civic Center with a specific group of students. 

“We value our partnership with the municipality and the Garcelon Civic Center and we take the behaviour of our students very seriously,” the statement read. “The school is cooperating with the centre to help them address these issues and they are taking their measures to address the behaviour at the school level as well.”

Coun. Emily Rodas, who is a social worker by professional trade, did inquire on how the town could work to rebuild relationships with those students to help them return to the civic centre. 

Watch the full Municipal District of St. Stephen Council

She asked whether there was a policy with steps and actions the students could take to earn their way back into the civic centre – with a trauma-informed lens – volunteering her time with the students. 

“We want them to be adults who have access to the types of mentors that can help coach them out of that behaviour,” she said during the most recent regular council meeting. 

Vest said one of the first things a student must do is take a meeting with Sumner, with a parent present. 

“We want a discussion,” Vest said, about helping the students return. “We understand the importance as well.”