'I feel like I won the lottery': Halifax non-profit group helps 7 families find affordable housing

CBC
·4 min read
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Bella Brooks said living in a hotel room with her son was difficult because they couldn't cook or have privacy. (Dan Jardine/CBC - image credit)
Bella Brooks said living in a hotel room with her son was difficult because they couldn't cook or have privacy. (Dan Jardine/CBC - image credit)

When Bella Brooks saw her son's new bed set up in the Halifax public housing unit they're set to move into next week, she held back tears.

"I feel like I don't want to cry because it's been hard, but everything's starting to come together," Brooks said in an interview Wednesday. "It feels good to not have to be in hotel anymore, to have my own place."

Brooks and her 12-year-old son became homeless last year when her gig employment dried up and she could no longer pay rent for her apartment in Lower Sackville.

She moved in with her partner, but when that became unsafe, she searched for a spot in shelters or supportive housing. All the beds were full, so for the past six months, she and her son have been living in a hotel room funded by the province.

But now, things are changing for her.

Brooks and her son are one of seven families who signed a lease for affordable housing last week, with the help of Halifax non-profit organization Adsum for Women and Children.

Brooks said Adsum helped her navigate the application process and set her up with some new furniture, since she lost most of her possessions in the period of time she was homeless.

"I feel like I won the lottery," Brooks said. "Even if I was to apply to [public] housing on my own ... I wouldn't have a couch. I wouldn't have beds. I'd be looking to buy an air mattress at this point for my son and then figure out what am I going to do for myself."

According to the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia's by-name list, 1,068 people are experiencing homelessness in Halifax as of Dec. 5. This includes people sleeping in shelters, transition houses, hotel rooms funded by the province and similar situations.

Adsum for Women and Children, a registered charitable organization, supports close to 400 individuals daily between its emergency shelter, family emergency units, shelter diversion programs, and a new Dartmouth shelter called The Bridge.

Meghan Hansford said a variety of housing options came together to work for seven Halifax families.
Meghan Hansford said a variety of housing options came together to work for seven Halifax families.

Meghan Hansford, Adsum's housing support manager, said a variety of housing options came together to work for seven Halifax families. (Brian MacKay/CBC)

It also owns and operates 10 apartments and a drop-in centre called The Alders Halifax, a 24-unit apartment building called Adsum Court Dartmouth, 25 apartments in Lakeside called The Sunflower, and four condos in Clayton Park.

The organization says it provides support staff and charges deeply affordable rents of no more than 30 per cent of each household's pre-tax income.

Meghan Hansford, Adsum's housing support manager, said the seven clients who found housing this week signed leases in a mix of private rentals supported by the province's rent supplement program, government-owned public housing units, and non-profit affordable housing units.

The Sunflower rents one, two, and three-bedroom supportive housing units to families at deeply affordable rates.
The Sunflower rents one, two, and three-bedroom supportive housing units to families at deeply affordable rates.

Adsum's Sunflower development in Lakeside rents one, two, and three-bedroom supportive housing units to families at deeply affordable rates. (Dan Jardine/CBC)

"Some seniors, some adults and some families, all of whom who were chronically homeless so they have been unhoused for six months or more," Hansford said. "Living in hotels being supported by us or also living in some unsafe situations."

Hansford said an additional family will be selected from Halifax's by name list to move into a unit at The Sunflower in January.

Public housing waitlist growing

The Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency would not provide a current public housing waitlist number to CBC News, saying it is in the middle of a review of its database "to ensure all those on the list are still in need and eligible for public housing".

But Housing Department documents obtained by CBC News through access to information laws state there were 7,709 waitlisted applicants across Nova Scotia as of August 2023. The average time applicants have spent on the wait list is 2.1 years.

The waitlist has grown by 2,919 people since April 2023, according to information from the Housing Department.

There is also a priority-access waitlist of 179 people fleeing domestic violence, experiencing homelessness or need housing close to life-sustaining supports.

Hansford said though she and other Adsum staff are happy to celebrate with the seven clients who recently secured safe and affordable housing, there are many more who haven't.

"We had that moment of being like, 'Oh my God, we got seven people houses, this is amazing.' And then instantly, we have other people who are losing their housing."

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