Beacon House installs 4 micro shelters amid growing homeless population in Halifax area

Communities outside downtown Halifax are finding ways to help a growing number of people experiencing homelessness.

Beacon House in Lower Sackville, N.S., installed four micro shelters on Wednesday to help people stay warm and safe this winter. The 2.5-metre-square shelters include a bed, blankets, insulation, heat, air conditioning, lighting, electricity and the use of an outdoor portable toilet. There are USB plugs in each unit as well. 

"We all have this notion, I believe, that homelessness used to be something that you saw in the city, at the street corners," Jim Gunn, a board member of Beacon House, told CBC. 

"But now we are aware of the encampment in Lower Sackville. It's been there all summer."

The micro shelters are located in the parking lot of the old Elizabeth Seton Church. Beacon House uses the former church building to operate a 20-bed emergency overnight winter shelter. 

"It has been a long time coming but we're really thrilled that they're here in time for Christmas," said Cheryl Newcombe, chair of the board of Beacon House. "We're going to be able to house four people who are living rough right now."

Pending the outcome of an inspection for an occupancy permit, the micro shelters could be ready to use in time for the Christmas week.

The Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth said it made an agreement with Beacon House to use its former church property. The Archdiocese is also still operating its 20 tiny homeless shelters that opened last year in the Halifax area.

Gunn says Beacon House has been able to keep up with demand, but it's been busy.

"I understand that there are more people signing up quite routinely and, at the same time, food costs more for Beacon House and for those who want to donate," he said.

Gunn said Beacon House held a meeting with community members about the micro shelters recently and noted no one who attended was against it. He said the group plans to hold another meeting in January.

Gunn said the community has always been generous, but traditional donations to Beacon House are still needed — especially as it is now offering more services.

"We're pleased with the donations that have come so far. The response of the community to Beacon House and to the shelters is wonderful. I think our communities are recognizing the need," Gunn said.

Beacon House's micro shelters were built with the help of the United Way Halifax, which is also helping other community organizations set up similar shelters.

"We split half and half on the cost of these four," said Newcombe, adding HRM councillors Paul Russell, Lisa Blackburn and Cathy Deagle Gammon played for transportation and installation of the shelters.

United Way Halifax recently launched a campaign to raise awareness about homelessness this holiday season.

The ad was shot using only a doorbell camera and it shows people gathering for Christmas celebrations and ends with a man experiencing homelessness pushing a grocery cart down the street.

WATCH | United Way commercial about homelessness at Christmas:

Rising costs

"It's been very powerful in terms of informing people," said Liz Struijf-Mandishora, director of development at the United Way Halifax.

Struijf-Mandishora said the need for help this year has increased.

"The issue is not just that people are experiencing homelessness, but the cost of everything else is going up," she said.

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, a non-profit society working to help build affordable housing while protecting Nova Scotia's existing housing stock, says homelessness has more than doubled in the municipality over the last two years.

Its most recent data, from Dec. 6, 2022, reported 727 homeless people. In January 2020, the number was 284.

"It's a lack of affordable housing first and foremost and I think it's also the fact that fixed incomes … are just not keeping pace with inflation," said executive director Jim Graham. "So folks are being faced with choices and I think that's a really big part of what's going on."

Focus on affordability

Data from the association showed hundreds of people over the same two-year period have been able to find housing.

Graham said this is attributable to housing programs that make rent more affordable. 

"It's taken a while for us to get to this position so it'll take a while for us to get out of this position. I don't think there's an easy answer … you can't just snap your fingers and produce 400 units of affordable housing. We need to focus our energy on that," he said.