First of 200 emergency shelters for Nova Scotia homeless expected later this month

HALIFAX — The first of 200 single-unit pallet shelters purchased to help Nova Scotia’s homeless population are expected to be ready for occupancy sometime next month, a provincial government official confirmed Wednesday.

Joy Knight, an executive director with the Department of Community Services, announced four sites across the province that will host the hard-sided shelters.

Knight said the first so-called “village” will be located near the Beacon House shelter in the Halifax suburb of Lower Sackville, N.S., with 19 units expected to arrive by the end of this month.  Once assembled, the structures should be ready for residents to move in within 10 days, she said.

The province announced in October that it was spending $7.5 million to buy 200 shelters produced by Pallet, an American shelter provider, with 100 to be erected in Halifax. The shelters are constructed with access to electricity, washrooms, laundry and on-site support, while each unit has bed frames, mattresses and desks.

Jim Gunn, chair of the leadership support team at Beacon House, attended the news conference and read a statement on behalf of the shelter.

“There are far too many people living homeless,” he said. “To free as many as possible, as quickly as possible, from the risks, even the danger of living rough in a tent, is what we must do. We must continue to do all we can.”

The government had set a target of mid-December for arrival of the shelters, but Knight said it is taking time to acquire suitable land that meets the requirements for their installation.

Knight says 30 units are to be installed in Sydney, N.S., along with 20 units in Kentville, N.S., while an undetermined number will be going up near the Halifax Forum in February or March.

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia reports that as of this week 1,094 people in the Halifax region identify themselves as being currently homeless.

Knight said people living in tent encampments will be given priority for the Pallet shelters, while outreach workers and service providers will determine who will be offered the opportunity to live in them.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press