
A new mental health group home in Fredericton will be named after one of the victims of last summer’s shooting.
Costello House is named after Const. Robb Costello, who responded to a shooting on Aug. 10, 2018.
He died that day along with Const. Sarah Burns and two civilians, Donnie Robichaud and Bobbie Lee Wright.
The home will be run by New Brunswick Community Residences (NBCR), a non-profit that provides support and programming from people just leaving the hospital.
Executive director Stephanie Brewer says the non-profit was working on opening a third home during the summer of 2018 when the tragedy occurred.
Costello’s widow Jackie McLean is also the chair of NBCR’s board, so the shooting hit home.
“You know, it really hit us all hard,” said Brewer. “Many of us knew Robb and he was a supporter of the work we did here, so it just seemed fitting that we named the house after him and in his honour.”
Brewer says they hope to pay tribute to the other victims of the shooting in the future.
“This has been a big undertaking for us, but we’d really like to open more homes. Of course, we’d have to get permission from the family, but we would love to be able to name those after the other individuals that lost their lives that day,” she said.
Currently, the non-profit owns and operates two mental health homes in Fredericton, each with different levels of care. They also operate a semi-independent apartment program.
“People are referred to us from social development… what our objective is is to try to help people develop life skills and become more independent,” she said.
“The whole idea is to ensure people have a warm, loving, caring environment so that they can work on whatever goals they may have. Staff are there to support them with all their daily activities, and just help them become part of their communities.”
Costello House will have six beds and will help people re-enter the community.
Brewer says the homes also aim to decrease stigma around mental health.
“They become part of their communities. They are volunteering in the community, they’re working, they’re going to schools in the community. It really makes a world of difference to them to be accepted. They’re able to stay stable and follow their treatment plans,” she said.
Renovations are almost complete, says Brewer, and they are hoping to open Costello house mid-January.
She says they are currently accepting donations of furniture, appliances and other household items, to help make the space feel like a home.