Nova Scotia

Advocate calls for more temporary housing in Cape Breton before winter

An advocate who works with at risk residents in Sydney, N.S., worries that people will die this winter if more shelter spaces are not offered in CBRM. This comes as the Ally Centre has seen double the number of people sleeping in tents compared to last year.

Faster action needed from government in areas outside Halifax, says head of Ally Centre

A blue tent hidden in the woods near downtown Sydney.
Christine Porter said more than 150 people who use services at the Ally Centre in Sydney, N.S., don't have a roof over their head this year. She said that's only a snapshot of how dire the situation is in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. (Matthew Moore/CBC)

A housing advocate says she's worried that the province and federal government are not doing enough to help people without homes in Cape Breton where dozens of people are living in tents heading into the colder months..

Christine Porter, executive director of the Ally Centre in Sydney, N.S.,said about 150 people who use the organization's services don't have a roof over their head, double compared to last year. The Ally Centre helps people with mental health, addiction and homelessness issues.

She said plans to help people in Cape Breton, including investments in public housing and temporary housing, are a good start, but fall short of getting timely help for vulnerable citizens. The province has yet to say where the new housing will go and when it'll be in place. 

"There needs to be shelters for families open as well because we're seeing families sleeping in tents," Porter said.

She said seniors on the island are also a growing concern, as more and more are using services from different agencies that help people who are experiencing homelessness. She said hotels could be opened for seniors or families who are struggling to find a place to live, similar to what the province did earlier this year with a hotel in Dartmouth.

"There's lots of Band-Aid solutions that can happen, of course. We've had too many winters gone by already where there's been no real reaction," she said.

For the public housing investment, Porter said while a solid option, it does not go far enough to help people without adequate incomes. 

A small white structure with a blue door sits at the front of a row of a identical structures, one of which has a yellow door.
The provincial government plans to buy 200 Pallet shelters for temporary housing with 100 slated for the Halifax area and the rest for elsewhere in the province. The tiny units are designed to be linked to other services from support organizations to get people off the streets. (Jim Meyers/VerizonPhoto)

Porter said the investment of $83 million is too small to make a difference provincewide, let alone whatever amount actually comes to Cape Breton. Currently, 1,240 people are on the waiting list for public housing in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality as of Aug.16, 2023. Of those, 597 are seniors and 516 are families.

Two weeks ago, the provincial and federal governments announced an $83-million investment into public housing in Nova Scotia. The money is intended to fund 222 new units built across the province  — including several sites in Cape Breton.

On Wednesday, the province made another announcement about funding tiny homes and temporary shelters. The specifics of where $7.5 million for small, temporary shelters produced by Pallet, a North American provider of transitional homes, is still being worked out. Pallet is set to provide 200 units across Nova Scotia, including 100 in the Halifax area.

A man with a beard and glasses sits at a table.
Community Services Minister Trevor Boudreau could not offer a timeline on when the new shelter spaces would be coming to communities across the province. (CBC)

Provincial Minister of Community Services Trevor Boudreau could not provide details on where, how many and when these units are coming to Cape Breton. 

"You know those conversations have already begun on kind of, you know, where shelters could go, what would the need be …what are the wrap-around services that [need] to be provided?" Boudreau told CBC Cape Breton's Information Morning

Porter said and people living in tents cannot afford any more delays. She said the provincial government's focus on the Halifax Regional Municipality means other communities in the province will see a growing homeless population.

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