Helping the homeless
Province adds funding to its affordable housing programming
A much needed helping hand to this community’s most vulnerable population has been extended by the province.
The assistance comes in the form of $18 million in new provincial funding that will create 1,500 new rent supplements for affordable housing over the next three years.
Two-hundred of the supplements that ensure eligible clients do not pay more than 30 per cent of their household income for housing will be available in Cape Breton.
Fred Deveaux, executive director of the Cape Breton Community Housing Association, said the funding will assist with a ‘quite serious’ local homelessness situation.
“We see people who have been chronically homeless for a long period or youth who have been chronically homeless for a short period that certainly don’t have a way forward in their lives,” said Deveaux, when asked about the supplements following Friday’s press event in Sydney.
“This changes people’s lives. They have independent housing for the first time in many years and they are able to break that cycle and move on with their other goals.”
The new supplement announcement will double what is now offered locally over the next three years and help clear wait lists, he said.
In 2016, the housing association conducted a major research study that found 304 individuals who are homeless in this area, as well as a pointin-time count that found 137 homeless individuals over a 12hour period.
Those studies were recently updated and official results will be released in the coming weeks.
“We’ve seen small reductions, which is positive but there hasn’t been significant movement
in the number of homeless individuals in the CBRM.”
The province will also invest $100,000 under the Poverty Reduction Blueprint for a one-year pilot project to address youth homelessness in Sydney.
The Cape Breton Community Housing Association used that money to hire a youth housing support worker, and to offer trustee support. That worker was also provided with 10 rent supplements for area youth.
Housing Nova Scotia has also invested $114,000 over two years so that the housing association could hire a housing support worker to focus on adults at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
“This is part of our poverty strategy it’s part of trying to tackle the homelessness we have in our community,” said Derek Mombourquette, the MLA for Sydney-Whitney Pier.
“As the local MLA, we receive these calls regularly that folks are looking for affordable housing and this program today will allow us to significantly increase the ability to partner with the private sector and notfor-profit to offer rent supplements to residents who are looking for a home.”
While pleased with the announcement, Deveaux said there is still much work to do.
In particular, shelters for women and youth need to be expanded and there is a significant need for street level health services.