15 Dec Province Adds Beds for Homeless in Halifax

Some people do not have a place to call home.

It’s even worse to know that the mattress they once had, had to be taken away due to the
COVID-19 pandemic and physical distancing.

You may ask, how so? Due to social distancing, fewer beds were available at a time when
people needed them the most. With COVID-19 in our very own communities, and with
Winter here, having more people living without shelter creates many health and safety
concerns.

Fortunately, the province is taking further steps to address homelessness in Halifax.

A total of 40 beds will be added at two new locations in peninsular Halifax. A big thank
you to the Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre that has offered 25 beds, and to the
North End Community Health Centre that has offered 15 beds.

This investment will replace beds lost when shelters had to remove beds due to
physical distancing requirements and add new ones to our shelter system.

Within the coming days, the organizations are expected to open and will be fully
operational by the end of the year.

The agreements will be in place until Dec. 31, 2021.

“Our new initiative will provide immediate, temporary housing for some of our
community’s most vulnerable individuals. This funding gives us 12 months to work with
our provincial, municipal and community partners to create permanent solutions for
those experiencing homelessness,” said Marie-France LeBlanc, executive director of the
North End Community Health Centre.

Did you know that:
– Since April 1st, 647 people have been housed by provincially funded housing
support workers.
– The province is investing up to $1.7 million in this project.

For more information, please visit: Housing action plan, https://housing.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/NS_Housing_Action_Plan_2019.pdf
Municipal Affairs and Housing Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/dma_ns