Survey shows reno-victions, fixed term leases leading to more people living rough

It was hot and humid on July 11, when 23 individuals set out across Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford and Lower Sackville to capture how many people were living rough or homeless.

"We go around and you'd speak with people who are in ATM vestibules or in parks or tents or those Tyvek shelters, that kind of thing," said Jacob Wilson, a homelessness advocate who helped complete the homeless survey.

The one-day survey found 178 people who were living rough and paid them $40 to complete a questionnaire. That's up compared to the 85 people who were surveyed in November last year.

"There's a bit of a shock looking at that number," said Wilson. "One hundred seventy eight is a lot of people and it's a big increase from the previous point in time counts, but it was also pouring (rain) and there was a lot of tents that we got to and there just wasn't anybody home. It was clear someone was living there, but you can't talk to a tent."

The heavy rains didn't stop the surveyors from completing their work, but they believe the 178 people they spoke to is an underrepresentation of the number of people who are homeless in the area.

"We missed some people at their encampments, but we did allow service providers to connect with people later on through the week that we knew we missed," said Gayle Collicutt, a housing support coordinator with the Mainland Nova Scotia Elizabeth Fry Society, who undertook the point in time survey.

The data showed that of the 178 people surveyed, 71.9 per cent are male and nearly 25 percent are female and 1.7 per cent are non-binary.

• 31.5 per cent have been in the foster care system as a child/youth
• 22.5 per cent identified losing their housing to a fixed-term lease or reno-viction
• The average age of those surveyed is 40 years of age
• 13.5 per cent of those surveyed are seniors (aged 58+), and 10.2 per cent surveyed are youth (aged 16 – 24)

Collicutt is concerned about the number of homeless people surveyed who have been in the foster care system and says they are being failed by the same system as they enter adulthood and lose access to support.

"We're just taking these kids into care and as soon as they are adults we are setting them free, to be set up for failure," said Collicutt. "And a lot of them end up in intergenerational cycles where they were in foster care and their children are in care."

This was the first time surveyors asked individuals about their previous lease or living arrangements, and 22 per cent said they were forced out of their home because of a fixed-term lease or reno-viction.

"Fixed-term leases are up since the rent cap came in," said Collicutt. "Because landlords want to bypass the rent cap, and by doing that you do a fixed term lease, and if you're not a huge fan of the tenant or the money, you are going to use that."

Both Wilson and Collicutt were critical of the past and present provincial governments who they say haven't done enough to address the lack of affordable housing and the lack of new and available public housing.

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