Geary Street encampment officially closed after region’s de-designation

The remaining three people sheltering at the Geary Street encampment in Dartmouth have left, Halifax Regional Municipality said in a statement.

The region said that as of 9:00 a.m. on June 25, the few people still at the de-designated encampment space were told to leave. The municipality said in a statement that the effort was “civilian-led,” which saw housing and homelessness staff remind the individuals that they could not remain.

This comes after the region announced the de-designation of the space as an area where people could shelter on May 28. It provided written notice to the approximately four people staying in the area.

On Wednesday, three people were asked to pack their items for transportation or storage and leave the area.

By 10:15 a.m., staff said that everyone had left and fencing was being installed. This is due to the remediation needed after the space saw “heavy use” as a designated location.

“Over the past three years, this site has consistently had fewer individuals sleeping rough and has also recorded the lowest usage among designated locations in recent months,” the statement from the municipality reads.

According to staff, there were 48 tents and four trails in the city’s four remaining designated locations, which the statement reiterated would be temporary.

Officials say the municipality will continue to phase out designated sites as more permanent shelter and housing spaces come online. The goal, they say, is to return those public areas to their intended use.

Four designated homeless encampment sites will remain open: three in Halifax and one in Dartmouth.