Standing in a homeless encampment on the outskirts of Halifax, Aaron Haynes says food, advice and supplies from volunteers warm his spirits – even as winter’s bitter cold draws closer by the day.
Haynes – who lives in a tent in Lower Sackville, on a ball field that the Halifax Regional Municipality has designated as a site for the homeless – says the volunteers have helped him with his mental health, saying they’re doing “God’s work.”
Samantha Banks, vice-president of The Gated Community – Cobequid Ball field, a group that helps the homeless, says she’s just one of a growing number of Nova Scotians who are banding together to form non-profit groups and Facebook networks to assist people without homes.
Her group provides everything from clean underwear to daily hot meals, served under a donated, grey tarp each night.
However, her non-profit is growing increasingly anxious about how the ball field community – and other city-designated encampments – will survive the winter.
Its residents are awaiting word on a promise by the province to provide Halifax with 100 “pallet houses” – small units with locks, electricity, but no plumbing.
Trevor Boudreau, minister of Community Services, says the province has ordered them and is working with municipalities on places they can be located, adding that the homes should be ready for occupancy in “the next couple of weeks.”
Paul Russell, the councillor for the Lower Sackville area, says initial plans to erect the pallet shelters outside a sports facility, just two kilometres from the ball field, are now unclear because of “concerns” from local residents.
With all the uncertainty, Banks says her group has co-ordinated donations of insulated tarps and portable propane heaters for people, but she said she’s still “petrified” at the danger cold weather poses to the residents.