New Street Outreach Teams Providing Support to People Experiencing Homelessness.
New street outreach teams are now providing support to people experiencing homelessness in Truro and Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM).
The teams help connect people to services and create individualized plans to transition to short- and long-term housing.
“People need to know what supports and services are available and how to access them,” said Brendan Maguire, Minister of Community Services. “Street outreach workers are out there building relationships with people who are sleeping rough to find out what they need and how we can help remove the barriers between them and a safe, warm place to sleep.”
CBRM’s new outreach team, with five full-time staff, began its work earlier this month. The team is led by the Cape Breton Community Housing Association and covers communities throughout the municipality.
In Truro, a five-person team led by the Truro Housing Outreach Society began operations Wednesday, July 10. The team also supports surrounding communities in Colchester County and East Hants.
Halifax Regional Municipality’s (HRM’s) street outreach team, run by Shelter Nova Scotia, has grown to six full-time staff since additional funding was announced in December.
Quotes:
“Thanks to this funding from the Department of Community Services, the Cape Breton Community Housing Association is able to extend its suite of services to CBRM’s most vulnerable homeless citizens and especially to those who are living rough. The goal of the street outreach team is to help keep people safe and to encourage individuals to work with the team to end their homelessness and find safe, affordable housing.”
— Fred Deveaux, Executive Director, Cape Breton Community Housing Association
“Housing-focused street outreach is harm reduction, and the new outreach team will allow us to meet individuals where they are in the community. We look forward to bridging gaps in service provision, which will increase capacity building for organizations and agencies, and allow us to all work together to support our unhoused and precariously housed community members. There is a lot of work to be done, and we’re excited to start.”
— Davy Rose, Outreach Co-ordinator, Truro Housing Outreach Society
“Shelter Nova Scotia’s outreach team represents a significant step forward in our efforts to support individuals experiencing homelessness in our community. Through targeted outreach and collaboration with key stakeholders, we aim to provide critical resources and support to those in need – ultimately helping them transition to stable housing.”
— Linda Wilson, Executive Director, Shelter Nova Scotia
Quick Facts:
- all three outreach teams operate six to seven days per week
- the government provided $650,000 to Shelter Nova Scotia in December to expand HRM’s street outreach team
- government funding to support the new outreach teams in fiscal year 2024-25 is $506,000 for the Cape Breton Community Housing Association and $486,000 for the Truro Housing Outreach Society
Additional Resources:
News release – Additional Diversion, Eviction Prevention Support for Nova Scotians https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/06/05/additional-diversion-eviction-prevention-support-nova-scotians
News release – More Supports for People Experiencing Homelessness https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2023/12/07/more-supports-people-experiencing-homelessness
News release – New Supportive Housing, Pallet Village Location https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/06/04/new-supportive-housing-pallet-village-location
News release – Additional Shelter Space in Truro https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2024/02/09/additional-shelter-space-truro
Source : Provincial Release
