One homeless vet ‘too many,’ committee told
HALIFAX — Armed forces veterans are not immune to the housing crisis and homeless issue plaguing Nova Scotia.
“There are homeless veterans on the streets throughout Nova Scotia,” Erica Fleck, emergency manager for Halifax Regional Municipality, told the legislature’s standing committee on veterans affairs at a meeting Thursday at Province House.
“There aren’t many, but one is too many,” Fleck said.
“In the last year and a half, Nova Scotia Nunavut Command has advocated and represented 19 veterans who were shelter insecure,” said Valerie Mitchell-Veinotte of the Royal Canadian Legion.
“The moratorium on evictions during the pandemic was a great benefit to us, Mitchell-Veinotte said. “We identified the risk of homelessness within the province of Nova Scotia as greater than actual homelessness. In that same period, 19 were identified as shelter insecure and two were actually homeless. Those two individuals who were homeless were due to personal choices that they made and their homelessness was temporary and we were able to keep them in hotels until they could both make arrangements with family members, sort of take them in.”
Mitchell-Veinotte said the majority of veterans approach the legion for help before finding themselves out on the street and “we can provide the supports to have them stay” in their current housing situation and to provide the financial support to make that happen.
“Not only would we be providing rent, but making sure all of the utilities are paid, making sure that there is food security,” she said.
Mitchell-Veinotte said the legion deals with a “lot of families,” veterans affected by their situation along with independents and often a spouse.
Service officers with the legion try to identify any benefits that the veteran is entitled to and can apply for, she said.
Mitchell-Veinotte said Veterans Affairs Canada is much more responsive to providing emergency funding and transitional services than was the case in the past.
Tracey Taweel, deputy minister of community services, said that veterans have ensured the preservation of the county’s freedoms and values.
“It is important that we all do our part to support them as they transition from active service,” Taweel said.
“Having a place to live provides stability, security, and a sense of belonging,” she said.
Taweel said recent statistics show that from January 2021 to March 2022, less than two per cent of Nova Scotia’s homeless population were identified as veterans.
The department “does not have a program specifically for veterans, but we have services for all people who find themselves homeless and our staff will work with veterans to help them access additional federal services that are available to them,” she said.
Taweel said the department connects those experiencing homelessness with a housing support worker who will assess their needs and walk through the services available to them.
“This could include emergency shelter beds, income assistance options, rent supplements, housing search support, and even placement in permanent housing with wraparound supports.”
Debbie Lowther, CEO of Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) Canada, said military members are willing to lay down their lives in service to their country and in so doing, develop incredible bonds with fellow members.
“This experience leaves some veterans reluctant to seek out or even accept help from civilian organizations as they don’t feel understood,” said Lowther, who heads an organization founded in Halifax in 2010 with the aim to provide immediate aid to veterans of the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP who are in crisis, at risk of becoming homeless or those who have already become homeless.
The organization has since evolved into a national, federally registered charity that primarily depends on hundreds of volunteers across the country.
Lowther said veterans are burdened with the challenges that lead to civilian homelessness, such as poverty, housing affordability, job loss or instability, mental illness and addictions, physical health problems and family or intimate partner violence.
“They are also struggling with their transition from military to civilian life and feeling as though they have lost their identity and doing so without the social support network of people who understand them,” Lowther said.
She said 19 per cent of the thousands of requests for assistance that VETS has responded to over the years have come from Nova Scotia.
“To be clear, not all of those are homeless,” Lowther said. “The majority would fall into the at-risk category. This makes up the majority of our work, and we know that homeless prevention is crucial. It is much easier to keep someone in their home than to find new housing.”
Only eight per cent of the veterans that VETS has supported in Nova Scotia were experiencing absolute homelessness, she said. Thirteen per cent were emergency sheltered, 15 per cent were provisionally accommodated, 54 per cent were at risk of homelessness and 10 per cent were securely housed, meaning they came to VETS for other reasons aside from housing.