The municipality’s director of housing and homelessness says homelessness is only going to get worse over the next several years and “encampments are not a housing solution.”
Max Chauvin, HRM’s director of housing and homelessness, used that phrase a few times during his presentation on an update on homelessness to council’s meeting on Tuesday.
Chauvin said as of April 30, there are 1,239 people on the by-name list. That’s a growth of 4% per month, which he expects will increase.
Five encampments in HRM were closed in March and city crews are still working on cleanups. The city announced on Feb. 7 that residents of those encampments had a deadline of Feb. 26 to leave.
Over the few weeks following that deadline, dozens of people left the encampments for other shelter options, and the parks were closed off. But there are still people living in other parks and non-designated sites.
There are currently four designated encampments in HRM, with 65 people living in those locations. The berms on University Avenue are the most crowded of the four sites. Chauvin said there are another 30-plus people living in non-designated sites, including behind the Superstore on Portland Street, in Northbrook Park in Dartmouth, as well as in rural areas of HRM.
“They are bad for those who are forced to live in them. We regularly see people’s physical and mental health decline,” Chauvin said of encampments.
“We should also recognize encampments are bad for the surrounding community. So, noise and disturbance. We have folks that are living next to one of our designated locations where yelling and screaming til four in the morning is a regular activity.”
Chauvin said the number of people living in tents keeps increasing because of the lack of housing options, the rising costs of living and rent, fixed-term leases, renovictions, challenges of living in shelters, and mental health and addiction issues.
He added that living in an encampment puts people at increased risk of violence, fire, rats and disease, and the encampment residents don’t have access to heating, cooling, proper toilets and storage.
Chauvin said staff have had conversations with people in the community who are precariously housed and who are close to being homeless. Chauvin cited figures from CMHC’s spring 2024 report that said the cost of rent in Halifax will continue to rise.
“We expect we’re going to see an increase in homelessness over the next several years,” Chauvin said.
Organic or managed approach to encampments
Chauvin said the municipality has a long-term approach for homelessness and encampments. That plan includes not permitting encampments if there are suitable indoor options people can access and continuing to close other encampments. He said the berms on University Avenue will be de-designated this fall because of the high risk from snow and ice control on the streets.
“There’s a general belief that the creation of and support of encampments at some level encourages more people to use them,” Chauvin said.
The municipality also won’t provide tents to organizations that ask for them, although they will provide replacement tents for those people already living in them. Chauvin added that at this time, the city won’t provide power at more encampments. Some of the now de-designated encampments, including the one in Grand Parade, did have power. Chauvin said the municipality will provide diversion supports to get people into housing.
Still, Chauvin said, with unsuitable options and a lack of mental health and addiction supports, people need a place to go.
“What we struggle with is do we simply allow organic growth? You can’t set up in protected areas, but we’ll try and help you and try to work with you,” Chauvin said.
“Or do we wish to take a more managed approach, which is designating more sites, putting staff on them and resources that are available to help reduce both the negative impacts on those that are living in them as well as the community around them.”
Concern for communities around encampments
Chauvin said the province is still working on Pallet villages for HRM. So far, 19 of the Pallet shelters are set up at a site in Lower Sackville. Another 81 will be set up in other locations across the municipality.
Chauvin said when business improvement district representatives in HRM had other business improvement district representatives from North America in the city, they were told HRM has the “nicest and best encampments they’ve ever seen.”
“I’m not sure that’s a moniker that we wish to have, but it is something we hear fairly regularly,” Chauvin said.
‘We need them to step up’
Coun. Lisa Blackburn said many of the reasons why people are homeless, including the cost of living, fixed-term leases, renovictions, and rental increases, are under provincial jurisdiction.
“It’s so frustrating that much of this work, I feel, is taking place in the dark and we’re being left in the dark by our provincial partners,” Blackburn said. “I can understand them wanting to keep their cards close to their vests, but if we’re going to be partners together in solving this problem, we need them to step up.”
Chauvin said the province is working on increasing access to mental health services for people who are homeless. He said the municipality will be meeting with the province in the coming weeks to create a memorandum of understanding about roles and responsibilities.
He said the municipality hasn’t yet had a conversation with the province about what happens after the current rent cap ends on Dec. 31, 2025.
‘The long-term solution is housing people can afford’
Coun. Patty Cuttell asked about parking and services for those people who are living in their vehicles and RVs in HRM-owned parking lots and property, including in her District 11.
Chauvin said HRM is currently doing an evaluation of the pilot program that allowed people living in RVs to stay in Shubie Park in Dartmouth for the winter.
“The long-term solution is housing people can afford, deeply affordable housing for people,” Chauvin said. “But in the medium term, we need to find a place where people who are in their vehicles can go where there are some accessible services.”
Mayor Mike Savage said while most of the concerns council spoke about are a provincial responsibility, the municipality is involved with homelessness because people are living in HRM-owned parks and properties.
“That’s the first reason. The second reason is we care,” Savage said. “I think we’ve taken so many important steps.”
“We can’t allow homelessness to be normalized. We shouldn’t accept it, we should fight it. We should do everything we can to support people who are homeless in our community.”