Some N.S. 'shelter hotel' residents no longer qualify if they make more than $1,200/month

A non-profit which administers the province’s Shelter Diversion Program has tightened eligibility requirements for the program.

Last month, Adsum for Women and Children provided a letter to its clients, advising of the change, which means the program will now only be available to Nova Scotians, "Who have a history of chronic homelessness and earn less than $1,200 a month, not including the GST or Child Tax Benefit..." A photo of the letter was sent to CTV News.

One shelter hotel resident, who did not want to be identified, heard the letter had been given to certain clients.

“It’s unreal,” the resident says. “These people are homeless, and now you’re kicking them out and making the situation worse for them. They’re going from a hotel room to a tent now.”

In Halifax alone, several hundred people live in hotels, funded by the province.

According to Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Services, the province spent $5.6 million for clients to live in hotels from April to December 2022.

The executive director of Adsum for Women and Children, Sheri Lecker, declined an interview with CTV News, but did provide explanation in an email.

She says the change affected ten households living in shelter hotels, some of which have been “housed or supported elsewhere by other programs, or are self-funding.”

But, she continues, “Resources are not infinite ... the decision of who to prioritize for support is not something that we take lightly."

"As each month passes, this program only sees a handful of households signing leases ... with the availability of hotel rooms decreasing as summer business picks up, and the pressures of increasing requests, we have to apply criteria."

Karla MacFarlane. Nova Scotia’s minister of community services also wouldn’t do an interview on the criteria change.

Instead, department spokesperson Christina Deveau wrote in a statement, “Criteria for the Shelter Diversion Support program are set by Service Providers, and those who are most in need have always been prioritized. Any criteria are reviewed based on current emerging pressures.”

Meanwhile, opposition politicians say the change is a sign of a situation that is only getting worse.

“In today's environment, people can't live off of $1,200,” says Zach Churchill, Nova Scotia Liberal leader.

“We really need to see the province step up, provide more funding to Adsum House so they can actually give the support to these people that we know they want to give them.”

He says the income criteria is among several issues affecting the most vulnerable in Nova scotia, noting that the Houston government has frozen income assistance two years in a row.

“They've also changed our rent supplement program, so unless you're paying 50 per cent of your income for your rent you're not eligible for that anymore,” said Churchill.

“Now this is another blow for people making over $1,200 a month.”

The provincial NDP says housing measures government has taken so far aren’t enough.

“The housing crisis is reaching a really terrible point,” says leader Claudia Chender. “Nova Scotians from all walks of life are really struggling to find a home they can afford, and what we mostly see are cranes in the sky that are going to create units that are simply not affordable.”

Both Chender and Churchill say the Tory government needs to quickly create more “non-market” housing such as public and co-operative housing.

Wednesday, the province did announce it’s handing over 0.7 hectares of provincially owned land to create a co-operative housing development in New Minas, N.S. with 24 units renting at or below 80 per cent of the average market rate.

The project aims to break ground early in 2024.

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