Housing insecurity a growing problem in the Maritimes, and one that must be faced
The removal of homeless encampments across Halifax on Wednesday sparked major protests in the city, but it also sparked conversations about the bigger issue of homelessness.
At a food bank in Dartmouth, volunteers are doing what they can to help support people in the community.
"It's a challenging issue," explains Pastor Calvin Willis, who runs Fathers Love Sanctuary & Food Bank. "Talking to them today, one guy is a pensioner, he says imagine being a pensioner and I got to be a panhandler to survive."
Advocates say housing insecurity is a problem that's growing rapidly in our region, and for a number of reasons.
"We lack the political will to resource the solutions for being homeless," explains Ardath Whynacht of Halifax Mutual Aid. "We know that we have a housing crisis right now. We know that affordable housing is not something that we have in Nova Scotia. We do not have rent control. We know that social assistance rates are really low."
Housing rights advocate and consultant, Lisa Ryan, says there are other factors to consider.
"Cuts that have happened over the years to mental health services," Ryan said. "That has been detrimental to the increase of individuals who are now without the supports that they once had to deal with significant mental health issues."
Ryan says communities across the region are faced with similar challenges.
"When you're on social assistance in New Brunswick, you get $537 a month," she explains. "There are no units available within New Brunswick, anywhere, that is affordable to somebody who is receiving $537 a month."
The executive director of the Truro Homeless Outreach Society says this year's report revealed there's more than 53 individuals experiencing homelessness in Colchester County alone – but the society only has 13 emergency and transitional beds.
"When you have shelters in the city, and elsewhere in the province running at capacity, then migration within the province happens," explains executive director Krista McNair. "So we have folks coming to our shelter because it's full in Halifax, and known as the hub, stopping in Truro. So in the past year, I did stats for the past year, we had to turn away over 100 individuals."
Advocates say if Maritimers would like to help raise awareness for housing insecurity in the region, they're encouraged to contact all three levels of government in their community.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.