Service providers in N.S. town call for more housing options after man dies in tent

Community services providers in Windsor, N.S., are calling for more support for vulnerable people after a man living in a tent died last week.

Staff with a local harm-reduction organization said a man was found dead in his tent on Tuesday afternoon.

"This person was a regular in our lives and our friend, and he died alone in a tent unnecessarily because we didn't have supportive housing in place for him," said Kimm Kent, director of Peer Outreach Support Services and Education, or the POSSE Project. 

West Hants RCMP say in an email they responded to a sudden death in Windsor on Tuesday. Officers did not consider the death suspicious. Nova Scotia's medical examiner has taken over the investigation, the email said.  

Kent wouldn't provide any details about the man who died, but he was a longtime community member.  She said her organization had been working with him for more than a year.

"We're hurting," she said. "We want to see change and there might not be easy fixes for all of these things, but I feel like transitional supportive housing and opportunities for that is a solution."

'Worst I've ever seen it'

Kent said there's an urgent need for more housing options and broader services to help with a growing homeless population.

"This is a crisis and it's not going away," she said. "It's getting worse. I've been doing this work for 30 years across the country and this is the worst I've ever seen it."

Brandon Burgess spent most of this year living rough. He said he knew the man who died last week.

"When I heard that I almost broke down and cried," he said. "He was a really close friend of mine. You know, he was in a really bad position."

Burgess, who is now staying with his uncle, said having to go back to a tent every night was depressing. He said he never knew if he was going to wake up to someone trying to harm him. 

He said he volunteers with a local group that helps homeless people now that he has a comfortable place to stay.

Temporary warming centre open

A warming centre at the Hants Aquatic Centre in Windsor opened Sunday to offer a place to stay, food, activities and company for those who need it. 

It's only a temporary solution to the homelessness problem in the community but it's necessary as winter approaches, said Leslie Porter, director of West Hants Caremongers, a group of volunteers who help people in need.

"I think really most of our folks out there just want to feel like they're worthy," she said. "I think this work here at the warming centre will show that they're worthy of some support."

Porter said she had just found the man who died most recently a permanent place to stay, but it was too late. She said he needed access to several services that aren't easily accessible in their areas, but he wanted to get help.