A new shelter option offering meals, power, shower facilities and support is set to open at Beacon House in Lower Sackville.
Nineteen cube-like units will arrive in the community by the end of January. The homes are built by a company called Pallet – a North American leader in building quick shelter villages designed and built by people with lived experience.
“Solutions are often not as simple as finding someone an available apartment. There are many who need more than a home for stability. This could mean treatment for addiction, harm reduction services, mental health care or more,” said Trevor Boudreau, Minister of Community Services. “It is our goal to provide sheltering options that help people on the road to more permanent supportive housing options, and Pallet is another step on the path.”
Once assembled, they will be connected to power and water; final preparations will include installing fencing around the site before residents move in.
The Nova Scotia government will not be involved in the selection process for the units, but a spokesperson confirmed anyone living in one will still receive the $380 per month available to homeless for essential items.
The province is working to set up more villages in the coming months:
– 30 Pallet units on Henry Street in Sydney, with Ally Centre and New Dawn Enterprises
– 20 Pallet units at 70 Exhibition St., Kentville, with Open Arms Resource Centre
– an undetermined number of Pallet units at the Halifax Forum, 6210 Young St., with 902 Man Up.
Timing will be announced once locations have been surveyed. The units purchased by the province are for one person, but a pet is allowed.
Service providers for all villages will provide additional wraparound services like health and employment assistance or help with addictions, based on residents’ needs.
The province has purchased 200 units from Pallet at a cost of $7.5 million with 100 designated for the Halifax area and 100 for other communities, including Sydney and Kentville.
