Why are there so many people without homes in the downtown? Where did they come from?
For decades, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality has had levels of poverty and unemployment that are higher than the provincial and national averages.
Until now, some or perhaps most of the poverty in the CBRM has been hidden. It may have been concentrated in communities or neighbourhoods that we don’t often visit.
It has been hidden, for example, in run-down apartments that were once affordable to people with very little income but are now no longer affordable. People who were living in unsafe houses and apartments can no longer afford the most run down of housing options in the CBRM.
It has also been concealed by virtue of a phenomenon known as invisible homelessness, where people without a place to live, stay informally and temporarily with others. They “couch surf”. We don’t see them, but they are homeless. Invisible homelessness can be as dangerous and unstable as visible homelessness.
The poverty we are seeing now is not new. Worsening, yes, but not new.
The CBRM is not alone in seeing an historic rise in homelessness, poverty, and addictions. Small, medium, and large cities across Atlantic Canada and across the country are facing similar challenges: more people struggling with their mental health, more people struggling with addictions, more people unable to find or afford safe housing.
Data Snapshot: Cape Breton Regional Municipality
Poverty rates for the total population in the Region are 18%. For those between 0 and 17 years of age, they are 24%, for those between the age of 0 and 5, they are 28%.
In 2022, the vacancy rate in CBRM was 1.5%, the lowest in recent memory (CMHC, Housing Market Information Portal). This is compared to a vacancy rate of 8.2% in 2020 and 6.1% in 2021.
In August 2023, 1,240 households were on the waiting list for public housing, including 516 families (Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency)
The 2021 Service-Based Homeless Count for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality identified 251 adults and 14 children experiencing homelessness.
Over half (52%) of the people counted were identified as living with a mental illness and/or addiction; similarly, over half (51%) of the surveys reported addiction/substance use as a barrier to access housing, and 39% reported mental illness as a barrier to accessing housing. (Service-Based Homelessness Count, 2021)
The Eastern Health Zone consistently has the highest annual mortality rate for opioid-related deaths in Nova Scotia (Data Nova Scotia, Health and Wellness)
The CBRM has needle use rates, drug-related death rates, and opioid recovery program enrollment 300-500% higher than mainland Nova Scotia. (Data Nova Scotia, Health and Wellness)
Rates of heavy drinking in Cape Breton are significantly higher than mainland Nova Scotia and the rest of Canada: 53.1% aged 20-34 in Cape Breton reported heavy drinking in the past month compared to the provincial average of 38.5% and the national average of 33.9% (CBRM Municipal Alcohol Policy: A snapshot of alcohol use in CBRM Communities, 2014)
According to the Cape Breton Regional Police, for example, there has been a 30% increase in calls related to mental health and addiction post-COVID.
Is this just the CBRM?
No. Although the CBRM has many precipitating factors (conditions that existed before this crisis and have contributed to it) cities and towns all across Canada are dealing with the same challenges, often on a much larger scale. We are not alone.
For example, the HRM has approximately 300 people living in tents and have had to designate multiple tent sites (former public parks and gathering spaces) to try to keep those living year-round in tents as safe as possible.
Five years ago, it would not be out of the ordinary to see individuals living and sleeping rough in the country’s largest cities (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver). This is increasingly the case in more and more small, medium, and large cities and towns.
Are people in need of homes being bussed to Sydney from Halifax?
No, people are not being bussed from Halifax. This is a rumor circulated periodically when we don’t want to take responsibility for those among us who are struggling; when we want to shift the blame to someone else and look away.
So, every person we see who is in need of a home was born here? No, just like the population at large, people come and go, move for work and opportunities, come back, come here for the first time. There is, however, no attempt to bus people who are without homes and contending with addiction from Halifax to Sydney. Halifax has many more resources than Sydney for people who are struggling.
We might expect to see people in need of homes or other social services coming from more rural parts of the CBRM or Cape Breton Island to Sydney, because just as Halifax has more services than Sydney, so Sydney has more services than Port Hood or New Waterford.
These people need to go to treatment. Why can’t they just go to treatment?
Treatment only works (and can still be a very difficult journey) when someone is ready to seek treatment. Treatment does not work if it is forced. Because of the nature of addictions, many people will have to seek treatment multiple times over the course of their lives. Recovery is not a one-time event or linear.
Many people who struggle with addiction have long and complicated histories of trauma and abuse. Some are able to heal from these histories and heal from their addictions. Some are not.
Recovering from addiction is not a straight line. It is a lifelong undertaking. For many people, recovery involves many relapses and attempts at treatment.
As of April-June 2023, 90% of adults seeking mental health services in CBRM received their first appointment within 134 days and their first treatment appointment within an additional 29 days (Nova Scotia Mental Health & Addictions Adult Services).
As of April-June 2023, 90% of children or adolescents seeking mental health services in CBRM waited 144 days for their first appointment and a further 85 days for their first treatment appointment (Nova Scotia Mental Health & Addictions Child and Adolescent Services).
Why can’t the Ally Centre or Homelessness Shelter do something about the people on the streets and sidewalks?
The Ally Centre and the Homeless Shelter (two separate organizations) both lack the resources to deal with the number of people who are struggling (the scale of the challenge we are facing). They have limited space, limited staff, and limited resources relative to the number of people who need their services.
The Ally Centre and Homeless Shelter did not create homelessness or addictions. They are two non-profit services doing all they can to support as many people as possible.
They do not “own” the problem or the people we see living or working on the streets. People can choose to seek services from the Ally Centre or Shelter. They can also choose not to, while still living and working on the streets.
People often also choose to congregate outside of the Ally Centre and/or Homeless Shelter because (1) they want to be outside during the day (2) they want to smoke which is not permitted inside other buildings (3) they feel safer staying close to these buildings because of the stigma, discrimination, and sometimes violence they experience in other outdoor public places (i.e., parks) (4) they want to be near the services they need.
Their staff, boards, and leadership do their best, but the depth of trauma, poverty, addictions, and homelessness in our communities is well beyond their ability to resolve (or to make invisible again).
What is being done now to help people on the streets?
Solutions to the challenges in our downtown, and in our community, are not easy. We will need to approach this from many different directions, and it will take time.
Those serving vulnerable people in our community – the Ally Centre, the Cape Breton Community Housing Association (which includes the Homelessness Shelter), Transition House, and the Jane Paul Centre just to name a few – are doing their best everyday with the finite resources they have. They are trying to help anyone who wants help. Inevitably, there are those that can’t be reached; that fall through the cracks.
Some changes/improvements in the last year include:
A new full-time Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at the Ally Centre of Cape Breton to better attend to the mental health needs and crises of Ally Centre clients.
A new full-time Cape Breton Regional Police Officer in downtown Sydney. The new Officer will be in the downtown Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm and, in addition to their presence, will work to build stronger relationships with all those who work and visit our downtown: business owners, clients of the Ally Centre, Jane Paul Centre, and Shelter, patrons, families, tourists, etc.
Approval and funding from the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services to enable the Ally Centre to serve as an Extreme Weather Centre (hurricanes, winter storms, extreme cold or hot) and provide daytime and overnight shelter for those who would otherwise be on the streets. This is in addition to additional beds/spaces, the Homelessness Shelter is able to offer in these same circumstances.
New Dawn and the Ally Centre of Cape Breton will open the 25 new units of housing for those who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness in November 2024. These 25 new homes will provide safe, stable, affordable and supportive spaces for people who would otherwise spend their days and nights on the streets.
The NS Department of Community Services and a group of community organizations are putting together a plan for winter shelter (day-to-day winter shelter, not just in extreme weather) for those who are currently living in tents and whose living conditions become even more dangerous as temperatures continue to fall. This has taken the form of the Pallet Village.
The Sydney Downtown Development Association and the Cape Breton Regional Police have partnered to offer a Business Watch Program in the downtown and to offer a series of training opportunities for businesses and their staff. These include things like: Narcan training, de-escalation training, identifying crimes, what to do when a crime has been committed, etc.
Why are the Ally Centre and Homelessness Shelter in the downtown? Can we move the Ally Centre and Homelessness Shelter somewhere else?
A municipality can create zones and rules that apply to these zones. The most well known are commercial zones and residential zones.
Zoning (what can go where at a very high/broad level) is the only mechanism a municipality has to control where organizations can or can’t locate.
The Ally Centre or Homeless Shelter can’t be asked/forced to leave unless the municipality changes its zoning. They are permitted to be where they are, doing what they do. The Ally Centre and Shelter own their buildings just as other home and business owners own their homes and buildings.
It is common and natural for individuals in need of services to gravitate to downtowns where all sorts of personal, social, and commercial services are located.
Moving services out of the downtown is not a sustainable way to deal with a much larger problem: that of growing homelessness, poverty, and addictions.
What should I do if I find a needle on the ground?
Call the Ally Centre and they can instruct you on the proper handling and disposal of used sharps: 902-567-1766.
Or call the non-emergency police line to have the Cape Breton Regional Police properly dispose of the needle: 902-563-5151.
You can find more information online on how to properly handle and dispose of needles on your own, should you be comfortable doing so.
Are there people living in tents in the CBRM?
Yes, it is estimated that at present there are 40-50 people living in tents in the CBRM. These people living in tents are in addition to those being housed at the Homeless Shelter. The Shelter was full throughout all of 2023.
Some people opt not to stay at the shelter or are not a good fit for the shelter because they cannot function in busy, communal settings. When faced with staying at the shelter or staying in a tent, they choose a tent because to them that is a safer/better place.
All across Canada and the US more and more individuals and families are living in tents (or RVs) because they cannot find or afford suitable housing.
When should I call the police?
Homelessness is not a crime, and the police (arrest) will not “solve” homelessness.
You should call the police if you see a law being broken anywhere in the downtown.
If you have a question about a law being broken or see a law being broken that does not constitute an emergency, you can call the non-emergency police line at 902-563-5151.
In the case of an emergency, always call 911 immediately.
I’m uncomfortable bringing my children downtown. What am I supposed to tell them about what they are seeing?
Seeing people who are living on the streets and struggling with addiction can make us very uncomfortable. It can make us feel unsafe (aside from whether or not we are safe), make us not want to run errands to businesses in the downtown, and/or feel like we are not doing enough to help.
Talking with children and young people in our families about what we are seeing introduces another layer of complexity: what do we say, will they be scared, will they understand?
Thankfully, there are many good resources that can help us find age-appropriate ways to talk about poverty, addictions, and homelessness. A few are listed below.
Living in a community means living with people of all incomes. Increasingly it also means living with visible homelessness and poverty. For families and children in other cities, seeing and making sense of visible homelessness and poverty has been part of their lives for a long time.
Explaining the challenges of family homelessness with Sesame Street: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QKxTDfGH-o
How to talk to kids about homelessness: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/25/us/california-homelessness-kids.html
How can we talk to young children about homelessness? https://www.homelesshub.ca/blog/how-can-we-talk-young-children-about-homelessness
How to talk to kids about homelessness (without scaring them) https://deiforparents.com/blogs/articles/how-to-react-when-you-see-a-homeless-person
I operate a business in the downtown. How do I make sure my staff are safe?
The Cape Breton Regional Police, the Sydney Downtown Development Association, and the Ally Centre all offer resources for businesses and their staff. These include:
Cape Breton Regional Police (CBRP)
- Business/Organization Environmental Design Audit: crime prevention through environmental design
- Needle disposal
For more information, call: 902-563-5151.
Sydney Downtown Development Association (in partnership with the CBRP)
- Police Response Protocol Education
- De-escalation and Communication Training
- How/When to Enact Protection of Property Act
- Observation and Identification Training (how to identify potential shop lifters and how to handle the situation)
For more information, call: (902)-562-3399
Ally Centre of Cape Breton
- Naloxone Kits and Training
- Instructions on handling and disposing of needles.
For more information, call: 902-567-1766
What can I do to help?
First of all, thank you. The scale of the challenges we are facing in the downtown can be overwhelming, but our individual efforts – no mater how small – make a difference and make our community a more compassionate and resilient place.
The most important thing we can all do is to treat everyone we encounter with dignity, like they are a fellow human and a member of our community.
This could mean offering a greeting, making eye contact, wishing them well, stopping for a brief chat – the same as we would do if we were to run into an acquaintance when out and about.
Often the Ally Centre, Homeless Shelter, Jane Paul Centre, and Transition House are looking for specific donations – old cell phones, tents, men’s clothes, women’s clothes, toiletries, snack foods, etc. They post these needs on their social media pages and websites which are also a good place to keep up on the work they are doing.
At any time, monetary donations to the Ally Centre, Shelter, Jane Paul Centre, or Transition House allow them to procure the supplies they need as they need them.
We will be heading into a series of elections at all levels of government in 2024, 2025, and 2026. Consider raising the issue of housing, poverty, and support for those living with addictions when talking with candidates and their representatives.
Downtown Sydney Committee 