Six new HRM sites designated as homeless encampments

October 19, 2023

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HALIFAX, N.S. — Six new municipal sites were added to the list of designated encampments for people who are sleeping rough in HRM on Tuesday, along with a site for people to sleep in recreational vehicles.

It’s getting exceedingly worrisome that the province still has not yet secured a location for a winter shelter, Max Chauvin, Halifax Regional Municipality’s director of housing and homelessness, told council Tuesday.

“If we do not have a winter shelter, right now we have almost 200 people who have nowhere to go,” Chauvin said. “We have people building fires just to keep warm and we will have people die if we do not have a place to go.”

New designated sites

Last month, council voted against permitting a designated tent area on the Halifax Common but voted to, among other things, establish additional encampments to the five that are in place now.

And on Tuesday, Chauvin came to council with suggestions of where those encampments should go:

Grand Parade, with a proposed occupancy of eight or fewer tents
Victoria Park with a proposed occupancy of 12 or fewer tents
The berms on University Avenue with a proposed occupancy of six or fewer tents
Martins Park with a proposed occupancy of four or fewer tents
Beaufort Park with a proposed occupancy of four or fewer tents
Saunders Park with a proposed occupancy of eight or fewer tents (if required)

These are target numbers, Chauvin said, as there are over 20 tents now in Grand Parade. A provincially run winter shelter and other options are needed to make sure these sites are not overcrowded, he added.

The original (since 2022) five encampment sites are:

Barrington Street green space between Cornwallis Street and North Street in Halifax.
Lower Flinn Park in Halifax.
Geary Street green space in Dartmouth.
Green Road Park in Dartmouth.
Correctional ballfield on Cobequid Road in Lower Sackville.

This is hardly enough to meet the demand.

“Important to know that this is not enough designated space to shelter all the folks that we expect,” Chauvin said.

He said street navigators peg the number of people sleeping rough tat more than 200, with over 10 people becoming homeless each week.

“We expect the sleeping (rough) number to double in the next eight months, as it did last year,” Chauvin said.

Martins Park in Halifax in a photo taken on Tuesday. – Tim Krochak

According to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia, as of October 10, there are 1,014 people who are actively homeless in HRM.

There are over 30 encampment locations in HRM and several of them are “critically overcrowded,” Chauvin wrote in his report to council. Particularly Grand Parade, Victoria Park, the Correctional Ball Field, and Geary Street are significantly over capacity, he noted.

Not in these parks

“This is so sad and it’s like the pit that just doesn’t have a bottom to it,” said Coun. Trish Purdy (Cole Harbour-Westphal-Lake Loon-Cherry Brook).

But she said she’s still not in favour of using municipal park land for encampment sites, as it’s harmful to communities.

She asked about Shannon Park lands in Dartmouth and private empty lots and Chauvin responded they are talking with Canada Lands which owns the Shannon Park property and it is very positive so far. But he said putting homeless encampments on private land is a hard sell.

Coun. Paul Russell (Lower Sackville) requested to remove Grand Parade and Victoria Park from the inventory because he said there are already tents there and they don’t need to be “elevated to the next level.”

Deputy Mayor Sam Austin (Dartmouth Centre) said they have to pick something because “in the sea of truly awful choices, you’ve got to choose something.

“A designated site brings certainty for the people who are living there in survival mode. “It says to them, ‘Yes, you can stay here, you’re not going to be hassled and told to leave.’”

Council voted down Russell’s amendment and endorsed the plan for all six additional designated encampment sites.

Emergency winter shelter

The province is having a hard time finding a space for a winter emergency shelter this year, Chauvin said, and HRM might have to look at options like closing an indoor recreation space.

“We need space for 80 or so people and at this point without a location, there’s not much more we can announce,” Chauvin said.

If, by the end of the week a location isn’t nailed down by the province, HRM will need to look at closing a rec centre, Chauvin said.

HRM did something similar in 2021, when the Gray Arena in Dartmouth was used as a winter shelter.

In the past, the province has stood up two winter shelters in HRM but this year it will be doing one.

Given the extreme need, Chauvin said a shelter like this would need should be open year-round.

“This also is an essential element of our ability to reduce overcrowding,” he said. “So we are concerned that we’re at this point in October without a designated location.”

Chauvin added that he hopes there will be a winter shelter in place soon so there will be room on Grand Parade to hold Remembrance Day ceremonies.

Tents set up on Grand Parade in Halifax in a photo taken on Tuesday. - Tim Krochak — Tents set up on Grand Parade in Halifax in a photo taken on Tuesday. – Tim Krochak

Sleeping in vehicles

Some who don’t have a roof choose to sleep in their vehicles instead of tents or trying to get into a shelter.

As of Nov. 1, they’ll be able to stay at the Shubie Campground, billed as the closest campground to downtown Halifax.

With provincial funding, Chauvin said HRM secured a spot for people at the Shubie Campground. But it will only be available for recreational vehicles, and while there will be some power, washroom and water/shower services won’t be available because they aren’t winterized.

Many people who just have their cars to sleep in often park in commercial lots. Staff are looking at identifying locations for people who can park without worrying about getting a ticket or towed away.

Tiny homes and pallet villages

Last week, the province announced a partnership with developers and the municipality to build a 50-unit tiny-home community on the Correctional ballfield in Lower Sackville, which is currently a designated encampment that’s home to over 30 people. Chauvin said they will have to work on a relocation and transition plan.

They also announced they will be buying 200 pallet shelters, with the intention to spread them out into villages of 10-15 shelters in HRM.

Chauvin said the province has offered some sites and the HRM-owned sites for these villages could include:

Various surplus HRM properties designated for affordable housing.
Parking lot J at the corner of Bell Road and Sackville Street.
the spare side lot of the Sackville Sports Stadium.
Young Street parking lot of the Halifax Forum.
The Green Road encampment site.

A designated encampment site at a baseball diamond in Lower Sackville in a file photo from Oct. 11. - Tim Krochak — A designated encampment site at a baseball diamond in Lower Sackville in a file photo from Oct. 11. – Tim Krochak

Chauvin said he expects the pallets to arrive in HRM sometime in January.

City staff are also working on a report for council on options for council to consider purchasing large, prefabricated structures for mass sheltering. Chauvin said the report will be coming to council later this fall.

Costs for HRM

Encampment sites require weekly garbage service and water delivery which are over $30,000 a year for large encampments. Adding power adds another $50,000 to $100,000, along with ongoing utility costs.

As HRM will help with intake and shelter placements for the shelter and tiny home projects, staff also suggested hiring a full-time housing co-ordinator at a cost of about $110,000 annually.