Shelter space at Halifax Forum extended for another year

A shelter that opened at the Halifax Forum last winter in response to a growing number of homeless people in the city will remain in place for at least another year.

The province and the Halifax Regional Municipality said Wednesday they have extended an agreement to keep the 94-bed shelter running 24/7 in the facility's multi-purpose centre.

"We need to keep emergency options available for people to come inside while we work to build longer-term transitional and supportive housing," Jill Balser, acting minister of community services, said in a news release.

The emergency shelter, which first opened in January with 50 beds, was expected to stay open until this month. The new agreement expires at the end of August 2025.

The municipality will continue to provide the facility free of charge. The province has set aside $5.4 million for operating costs, including staffing, utilities and food.

Meals, showers, beds offered

The shelter is operated by 902 ManUp, a non-profit organization that co-ordinates on-site and support services. Wraparound services offered at the shelter have included connection to housing support workers, primary health-care referrals and peer mentorship.

Despite offering residents a daily meal, access to showers and a bed, the province initially struggled to convince some people to move to the shelter from tent encampments that had sprung up around the city. 

Some people who were experiencing homelessness last winter said they felt safer in an encampment than at the shelter, saying the Halifax Forum option lacked privacy, the ability to come and go as they please, and a sense of community.

One man who'd been living outside Halifax City Hall for several months said he wasn't interested in moving from his tent to the shelter where a curtain would be all that separated him from his neighbours.

Trevor Boudreau, then minister of community services, said in January the response was "frustrating" and urged people in encampments to give the shelter a chance.

'A needed and valuable option'

Suzanne Ley, executive director of employment supports and income assistance with the Department of Community Services, acknowledged Wednesday that shelters "aren't for everyone."

She added, however, that the shelter has been in demand.

"I would say since it opened in January, it has been either at or near capacity every night, so we know that this is a needed and valued option for people in the community," she said. 

Ley also said adjustments have been made to the space and staffing since the shelter opened, although she could not elaborate. She directed questions to 902 ManUp, which she said was always getting feedback from those using the space.

No one from 902 ManUp immediately responded to a request for comment, but the organization said in a statement it was happy to continue supporting people experiencing homelessness in HRM.

"We will continue to provide a safe space for people and connect them to community as a grassroots organization," Marcus James, co-founder of 902 ManUp, said in the statement.

According to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia's by-name list, there were 1,271 people who self-reported being unhoused in HRM as of Aug. 21.