First occupants move into Dartmouth modular shelters
Sunday was a day months in the making, as volunteers with the Out of the Cold Community Association put the finishing touches inside the emergency modular units that will eventually house 26 people.
Making the beds, hanging hooks, and filling up soap dispensers – the volunteers were busy doing what they could to make the shelters feel more like a home.
“And tomorrow once folks are all moved in, we're going to have a ‘store’ so they can pick out two pieces of art that they like for their room, and brand-new socks,” says Chloe Budd, housing coordinator for the Association.
“We've been working hard, there's been so many components, so many moving parts,” says Budd, “I think it's going to feel like a huge relief for people who've been sleeping precariously for a really long time, but also sleeping in the arena, which has been tough.”
The association - and the people it has been helping – moved out of the Gray Arena this afternoon – after using it as a temporary shelter this winter.
The provincial government has awarded the association a $2.7 million contract to deliver supportive housing services to occupants at the Dartmouth modular site for the next two years.
“We're going to have programs in the kitchen, we're going to continue our life skills program, and we'll also have an art therapist come in once a week which is very exciting,” says Budd.
A fully accessible unit, which will house two people, is yet to be completed, as is the site kitchen. That means the association still needs volunteers help to provide three meals a day at the Church St. location.
The city is planning a similar modular site in Halifax, behind the Centennial Pool. That part of the project is intended to house another 38 people but isn’t expected to be ready until late March.
The budget for all the modular units is now $4.9 million.
“It’s not a good time to be staying outside,” says Drew Moore, a volunteer with the P.A.D.S Community Network, which assists those without a home in the city.
But according to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, there are more than 450 people in the city without a place to live.
That’s why Moore says both the city and the province need to act more quickly on the housing crisis.
He’d like to see the city’s warming centre given the resources to open more frequently throughout the winter, rather than waiting for the threshold of -15 degrees or 25 centimeters of snow or more.
Moore also says progress on long-term solutions is overdue.
“People who are unhoused right now need housing, and not just any housing but we do need housing that is permanent, that is accessible, that is dignified, and that is safe," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.