‘The new face of being houseless’: Haligonians living in RVs plead for campground to stay open

For Carrie Steeves and a group of nine other people living full time in RVs in a campground near Halifax — the clock is ticking. 

Renfrew Camping, where Steeves lives and works full time, is closing for the season in less than a month. When that happens, she doesn’t know where she will live. 

“There’s no choices, there’s nothing available,” Steeves said in an interview outside her RV parked in Nine Mile River, about 50 kilometres outside Halifax.

“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing’s changing. Nothing’s getting done.”

Steeves and others are calling for the Halifax Regional Municipality to keep Shubie Campground, the only fully serviced campground within city limits, open throughout the winter so they’ll have somewhere to park their RVs.

According to the municipality, the campground sits on property it owns in Dartmouth and is leased to an operator for the summer season. Steeves said all the group needs is water and sewer services, and electricity — and they’re willing to pay to stay there.

The area’s municipal councillor, Tony Mancini, said he supports the idea, but he doesn’t have an answer for the group just yet.

Mancini said he has spoken to city staff and “it’s not as simple as just keeping the doors open,” noting other considerations including snow removal, garbage collection and washroom services. 

“If it’s simple dollars, I’m comfortable we can make that happen, but it may be beyond just simple dollars. But we really should be creative on how we deal with it,” he said.

‘A major crisis’, says councillor

Steeves said herself and the others like her are “the new face of being houseless.” They’re working and call their RVs home, but finding an affordable rental or owning a home is out of reach. 

“I’ve been looking for places for four years,” said Steeves, who works two retail jobs when the campground closes. “I’ve been on people’s couches … basements, and then, that’s it. There’s nothing … it just got worse and worse.”

Housing in Halifax is becoming increasingly precarious. According to the latest rental market report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Halifax saw the highest year-over-year spike in residential rent across the country between 2021 and 2022, with the average for a two-bedroom unit jumping 9.3 per cent. 

The vacancy rate in Halifax stayed around one per cent — the second-lowest in the country.

“It’s a major crisis,” Mancini said. “All you have to do is drive around the municipality, you can see it.”

The latest count by the Elizabeth Fry Society shows homelessness has more than doubled since last fall, and many parks are overflowing with tents.

Steeves believes there are thousands of people in the Halifax area that are “one renoviction, one rent increase, one illness away” from having to move into RVs. 

‘Several challenges’ to consider

In a statement, Halifax’s director of housing and homelessness, Max Chauvin, said his team is consulting with its partners, including the province, to see if the group’s request can be accommodated. 

“That said, there are several challenges in providing and maintaining a site for sheltering during the winter months, such as having staff to run the site as well as ensuring power, water and sewage are available during periods of below-zero temperatures,” Chauvin said.

He said council is considering options to assist the growing number of people experiencing homelessness across the municipality, but can’t confirm anything yet. 

A spokesperson for the provincial Housing Department said all questions about the Shubie Campground should be directed to the municipality. 

“It is always very concerning whenever we hear of circumstances where people may be struggling to secure housing,” spokesperson Krista Higdon said in an email. 

“The reality is, the housing crisis impacts people of all income levels. There is a need for more housing of all types in Nova Scotia.”

Higdon said in the last few months, the province has invested $80 million to create more housing options in “almost every region” of the province, including modular housing for health-care and skilled workers, temporary housing for homeless people, and funding to preserve and improve existing affordable housing. 

“We know it will take time for new housing to be built,” Higdon said. 

Steeves said her group needs to stay in the Halifax Regional Municipality so they can keep their jobs. She said Shubie Park Campground is the perfect location because it’s close to bus routes, hospitals, schools and stores. 

She said no one in the group needs additional supports for things like addictions or mental health.

Stephen Veinotte has been living in his RV for two years, working full time as a carpenter. He said after a divorce and credit issues, he just can’t afford a home in the current market. 

He met Steeves this summer, and joined the group advocating for a serviced campground throughout the winter.

“I think there’s a lot of people out there in this situation,” Veinotte said. “When I first did it, I didn’t think it was quite so prevalent. But after talking to Carrie and she’s talked to a lot of other people at the other campgrounds and they’re all saying the same thing.”

Most of the people in the group are single women. They’re all working, but say one income isn’t enough to make ends meet.

Veinotte said he’s nervous about the future.

“Thinking about it last night there and I didn’t get much sleep,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do.”