A Saint John halfway house is adding more beds to meet what a local non-profit calls a "severe" demand to help people who have served their prison sentences re-enter society. 

Margo Butler, the executive director of the John Howard Society of Saint John, which runs a house in the uptown — said halfway houses across the province are struggling to meet the needs of the population they serve.

She said this can mean people may remain institutionalized until they can be placed in a halfway house in th…