A Halifax centre to help intoxicated people is ready to go. But no one will rent to them

A new Halifax centre for people who are intoxicated is ready to go but can't find a home.

The stabilization centre, previously called a sobering centre, is jointly funded by the Halifax municipality and the provincial government, and will give people under the influence of drugs or alcohol a safe place to go rather than a police cell.

Municipal staff have found a service provider to run the centre but have not found a location after months of searching.

Amy Siciliano, Halifax's public safety adviser, said they have considered more than 50 possible sites and visited about a dozen in person.

Even when they have had a promising option in hand, they have all fallen through — including one just this week, Siciliano said.

"There's a stigma that's associated with people who use substances, [or] are experiencing homelessness. And that stigma is a barrier not only for this service but all kinds of services that we know are necessary," Siciliano said Wednesday.

"I think it's really that, that's the barrier."

Halifax council first approved funding for the pilot in November 2022, and the stabilization centre is a part of the city's public safety strategy for 2023-26. The strategy said these types of centres are used across the country to provide a more appropriate response to people who are intoxicated, and take pressure off hospitals and first responders like police.

The plan estimated the centre would be opened by 2024.

Doctors, advocates and families of people who have died in custody while intoxicated have called for this type of centre for years. Jeannette Rogers has said her son, Corey Rogers, who died in Halifax police cells in 2016 after being arrested for public intoxication and placed in a spit hood, might have gotten the help he needed and survived.

The original report on the project said the centre would have the ability to care for at least 10 people at a time. Halifax and the province are equally splitting the roughly $980,000 annual cost.

Siciliano said Halifax will announce who is running the centre once they find a location, but the service provider does have a strong history of working in this field and operating similar centres within communities.

Staff would be well trained in first aid and other relevant programs like mental health first aid, trauma-informed intervention and de-escalation, she said.

"I can't say that there would be no issues, but I think they'd be really well managed," Siciliano said.

The existing Mobile Outreach Street Health team will also be a partner and provide basic primary care to people staying at the centre.

Siciliano said they are looking at spaces in the private market because there aren't any municipal or provincial properties that are suitable for the centre.

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Brian Comer said HRM is leading the process to find a location, but it's "disappointing" to hear properties keep falling through when the funding has been in place for years. Comer said the province considers the project an important service for people who need a safe place to go while intoxicated.

"I know there's complex factors why you can't use certain sites, but my hope is that stigma isn't one of them," Comer said.

"It's always hard to find these sorts of sites, even though it's evidence-based sort of services that could help people."