A Point-in-Time Count snapshotted 1,150 people experiencing homelessness in Halifax Regional Municipality, including 17 per cent who were unsheltered.
A new report with data collected in October showcases that several people are sleeping outside in the municipality as winter approaches. According to the numbers provided by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHA), 197 people were living in encampments, vehicles or other unsheltered locations.
“Homelessness is more than just what we see,” Michael Kablan, Executive Director of AHA, told The Todd Veinotte Show. “It’s more than just the encampments (or) the people in the woods. The definition of homelessness is in the name: you have no home.”
Multiple teams set out on Oct. 15 to count the number of people in the provincial capital experiencing homelessness. Using feedback from the 2024 count, a strategic plan was in place to include specific areas of the city that people who are homeless are known to frequent, such as undesignated encampments, parking lots, designated encampments and urban streets.
The list of locations was created before the count because some areas are isolated and wooded, away from the public, making it harder for volunteers to reach.
“It was considered important to visit these sites during daylight hours to maximize the chances of locating and counting individuals in these areas,” the report reads.
Teams also focused on parking lots, a new addition this year, because anecdotal reports of a growing number of people sleeping in vehicles in HRM.
A further 953 other people, including children and youth, were reported staying in shelters, diversion programs, transitional houses, hospitals or in corrections.
“It is important to note that this total does not include individuals experiencing forms of hidden homelessness, such as those who rely on couch surfing and have no guarantee how long they can stay,” the report notes.
The region’s last PiT Count happened in October 2024, and found that 1,132 people, of whom over half are considered chronically homeless.
“While the numbers are nuanced and we’re seeing growth in some areas and numbers going down in other areas, overall, people are still having a hard time finding adequate housing as they move through the system,” Kablan said.
Experts heavily emphasize the need for transitional housing, the step between sleeping on the street and permanent housing. Several people don’t see shelters as an option, forcing them outside, Kablan said. With a decrease in funding from upper levels of government, the transitional housing that allows workers to connect with vulnerable people before providing permanent solutions disappears.
“We’ve built a system of emergency response. We have shelter capacity for people who find it an appropriate solution for them, but we’re still seeing people choosing to live outdoors or live rough or live in encampments at a higher number than we saw last year,” he said.
