Rally - Old Memorial Library - Halifax

The rally outside of Old Memorial Library on August 18^th, 2022

By Kendall Worth!

 

 

On August 18^th, 2022 a rally was held outside of the old Memorial Library on Spring Garden Road. This Rally marked one year from the often violent evictions of homeless people staying at parks around HRM that happened August 18^th, 2021. The event of August 18^th, 2022 marked the fact that one year has gone by, and although the city and the Province have dabbled here and there with creating band-aid solutions to the alarming increase in un-housed people, the city did nothing to address the real problem.

Here is the article I wrote a year ago in Nova Scotia on the August 18^th evictions.

In the meantime I noted a tweet:

 

This tweet is concerning… it shows evidence that the government has no interest in addressing the situation in the past when the problem was not as bad, or indeed, currently. If they had addressed the situation back in 2014, then today Halifax may have avoided the homeless crisis we are experiencing. But, instead all levels of government just dabbled, and no real solutions were created. They did not turn Bloomfield into affordable housing, which is just one example of what they could have done before the problem got worse.

As said in this BLOG post:

In Nova Scotia over the past several months, we are seeing an alarming increase in the Homeless Population and not enough action from Government to address this. They just dabble here and there with hotel rooms and some funds for non-profits…and NO rent control on vacant units.

But no real Solutions Created to the Housing crises.

 

While the city and the province have introduced these “Band-aid Solutions” meaning short hotel stays, designating 4 campsites before closing down People’s Park, provincial housing subsidies, and temporary rent control, it is not enough. Shelters remain full and those being offered hotel stays can only stay at the hotels for so long before they have to leave. I have also have been hearing that for one out of 4 designated Camp site the city offered for setting up tents, (the green space on Barrington Street) there is a safety concern at the principle site. There is a 20 foot drop behind the Tent set-up spot. If one of the people living there falls down that 20 foot drop, they can hurt themselves. One source also suggested, that if someone did fall down that drop, and hurt themselves, they cannot call an ambulance because there is no address for the bottom of that 20 foot drop. Also where they would land is next to the Halifax Shipyard. To me this is a big concern – the city will not take the safety of these locations, for camping, into account.

Lets just hope the City and the Province will smarten up and move fast in finding solutions so these homeless encampments can come to an end, with everyone housed – and sooner then later. We need to do better!