Sister of N.S. man found dead in Dartmouth tent speaks out

Claudette Desmond says her family is doing the best they can after suffering a heartbreaking loss during the holidays.

She says Halifax police found her 56-year-old brother Jeff Emerson dead inside a tent in Dartmouth, N.S., on Dec. 26.

“Officers came to the house and gave us the bad news that they found (my) brother deceased,” says Desmond. “Then the officer never said any more about what possibly could have happened.”

Halifax Regional Police says officers responded to a call on Geary Street around 4:20 p.m. last Thursday.

Desmond says her brother, who had been homeless since August, dealt with mental illness and substance abuse.

“For Jeff to try to live his own life like you and I would ... it was difficult at times,” she says. “He spent two or three weeks here with us, and then he decided to continue to move on, on his own.”

Desmond says her brother also faced financial hardship and struggled to afford rent increases.

She says the municipality should have done more to help her brother.

“There should’ve been something out there for a senior. He’s a senior,” she says. “But once again your name goes on a waiting list for everything that you do here.

“You can only do what you can do. Especially if you have your own family, grandkids. But it shouldn’t be up to us. We shouldn’t be responsible for it. It’s the city.”

In an emailed statement to CTV News, Halifax Mayor Andy Filmore expressed his deepest condolences to the family, friends and anyone impacted by Jeff's passing.

“This incident is a stark reminder of the critical housing and support challenges facing some members of our community,” Fillmore says. “No one in our city should have to live in a tent, and this tragedy underscores the urgency of our ongoing efforts to address housing insecurity and provide safe, dignified alternatives to living in parks and public spaces.”

Fillmore also committed to working with community organizations and all levels of government to “ensure that those in need have access to necessary shelter, health services, and supports.”

Dartmouth councillor Tony Mancini calls what happened to Emerson “awful” and says they’ve had too many similar situations in the community.

“Its horrible. It’s a human life. This is someone who is a friend of somebody else. A brother, a son, and has lost his life,” says Mancini.

Mancini says the province deserves credit for its positive strides towards addressing homelessness in the province.

“We’ve gotten better, we’ve progressed. Again, our last count was 78 people that were living in tents and the number is probably a little bit higher than that, but say it’s 100. We’ve progressed, we’ve provided places, we’ve worked with the province, the province has stepped up,” says Mancini.

“Unfortunately, we need more from (the province) and we’ll step up from a municipality point of view and do whatever we possibly can with the resources we have. But it’s not soon to be over unless we get people out of these tents.”

Desmond says she is now planning a funeral for her brother and says she will always remember him as a good person.

“He would give you his last sandwich,” says Desmond. “For a person that was struggling, he never ever complained about him not having food or not having that.

“Just hope and pray that, you know, things get a little bit better here for everybody. Especially all these homeless people outside.”

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