Downtown Sydney Committee

A SAFE, INCLUSIVE, PROSPEROUS DOWNTOWN SYDNEY

The Cape Breton Regional Municipality has long been one of the country’s poorest regions, with high levels of poverty, child poverty, unemployment, and addictions, but the post-COVID experience of these challenges is unparalleled.

The new 28-bed homelessness shelter opened in 2018, which since expanded to 32 beds (and grows to 40 beds in extreme circumstances) was full most of 2022 and has been full every day in 2023. As we head into winter 2023/24 there are an estimated 40-50 people sleeping in tents throughout the CBRM, in addition to those temporarily housed at the shelter.

The 2021 Service-Based Homeless Count for Eastern Nova Scotia identified 419 adults (325 in CBRM) and 64 children experiencing homelessness.

The 32-bed Homelessness Shelter, operated by the Cape Breton Community Housing Association served 340 individuals this year and found housing (both for those residing in the Shelter and those using other CBCHA programming and entry points) for 285 people.

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 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)

Thus, while it pains us to see a marked increase in visible homelessness in downtown Sydney and growth in the number of people who are both homeless and struggling with substance use, it does not surprise us.

Residents, downtown businesses, and elected officials alike are struggling to comprehend what they are seeing and experiencing each day in their downtown, what it means, how much worse it will get, and what they can do to help with the desperate situations of so many.

Hundreds of individuals and families face uncertainty around where they will sleep each night and whether their substance use will prevent them from feeling safe in their downtown and accessing much needed resources.

CBRM Forward sets out a number of provisions related to social equity within the municipality. These include:

• Identify and collaborate with individuals and groups that have historically been left out of local governance processes.   
• Encouraging Council to make decisions that benefit the greatest number of residents and support an improved quality of life for marginalized groups.
• Include and consider persons experiencing poverty, the unhoused, or inadequately housed in decision making processes.   
• Eradicate barriers to accessing municipal services such as transit, recreation amenities, and emergency services.  
• Ensure Municipally owned spaces are welcoming, inclusive, and safe for all residents and visitors to the CBRM.  
• Evaluate structural and procedural challenges to equity within the municipality. 

COMMITTEE FINDINGS

The committee has met twice and committed to quarterly meetings for the next year. Interviews with key stakeholders (Ally Centre, Homeless Shelter-Community Housing, and Cape Breton Regional Police) have been executed and the information gathered informs the recommendations below.

On the basis of its discussions, interviews, and research, the Downtown Committee has identified the following as being among the cause of, or related to, concerns and tensions in the downtown for those who are homeless, those who are seeking services from the Ally Centre or Shelter among others, those who are visiting the downtown for services or shopping, those who are operating businesses in the downtown, and/or those who are visiting the downtown from away.

These factors or themes, in turn, inform the recommendations that follow. These factors/themes are not easy to resolve, they are not new, though in many cases they are worsening. Improving the visible symptoms of these challenges in the downtown (and improving the lives of many of our fellow community members contending with homelessness and addictions) will take time, commitment, and resources.

1. Poverty: the homelessness we see in the Shelter and in the streets and parks throughout CBRM is the tip of the iceberg – the poorest in a poor community; those who are no longer able to hold on to homes and apartments with a difficult path back to tenancy or home ownership.

2. Lack of affordable and supportive housing for those living on the streets and/or living with addictions. At present we estimate a deficit of approximately 100 supportive housing units in Sydney.

3. Significant, complex unmet mental health and addiction needs among those experiencing substance use and a lack of housing.

4. Intimate partner violence (IPV): leading to unsafe living conditions, and an increase in homelessness, mental health crises, and addictions. Commonly cited as the leading cause of homelessness for women, where one study found 38% of women reported experiencing homelessness immediately after separating from their partner.

5. Stigma (in community, hospitals, businesses, parks, mainstream mental health services) and lack of welcoming public and private spaces for people experiencing substance use and/or a lack of housing.

6. Insufficient resources (financial/human) to enable frontline organizations (Ally Centre/Shelter) to secure enough and/or the right kind of staff and/or to be open for extended hours to meet the growing need for their services.

7. Concerns/fears and comments from downtown business community, patrons, residents:

• Feeling as though they don’t understand what is happening in the downtown area
• Feeling unsafe to visit/shop downtown; suspecting an increased possibility of violence
• Businesses not knowing how to respond to people looking for washrooms, to spend long periods of time in their shops/cafes, asking for money/food/other resources, and how to respond compassionately while balancing the needs of their customers and business
• Feeling helpless, uncomfortable, frustrated, afraid, confused, overwhelmed, concerned
• Feeling like the situation is steadily worsening and not being addressed by community leadership/elected officials

WORK UNDERWAY ACROSS CBRM

Fulltime Mental Health NP at Ally Centre

• Full-time in-house mental health NP

Mental Health Liaison for CBRP

• CBRP have liaison in the health authority/hospital that they work with
• Comes into play when someone is having a mental health crisis and going to hospital

Extreme Weather Centre at Ally Centre and at Homeless Shelter 

• Extreme weather shelter at Ally Centre approved/funded by DCS for extreme weather
• This is in addition to the extreme weather shelter currently operating/funded at the Shelter

Winter Shelter Plan for CBRM

• DCS is planning, funding and co-funding a series of provisions for winter shelter
• New Dawn + Ally Centre working on a plan for 35 units in CBRM

New Officer in Downtown M-F 8am-4pm (CBRP)

• Part of Boots on Streets program

Business Watch Program (Sydney Downtown Development Association)

• Narcan training, de-escalation training, property protection act, shoplifters, etc.
• Identifying theft/crimes and what to do

Rapid Housing Initiative (CMHC + DCS)

• New Dawn + Ally Centre partnership
• 25 units for those who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, dealing with addictions
• Will provide some people who live outdoors in the downtown with a place of their own
• Scheduled to open November 2024

Storefront Space for Cape Breton Regional Police in Downtown Sydney

• Expand the visibility of the police in the downtown
• Create a welcoming drop-in space where residents can ask questions
• Further connect the police with downtown businesses and events
• Provide an identifiable place of safety for anyone in distress

Extended Hours at the Ally Centre of Cape Breton (AC + OMHA)

• Ally Centre operates M-F 9am to 5pm (with exception of the Overdose Prevention Site which is funded to be able to offer evening hours).
• Ally Centre provides a safe indoor space for clients to seek supports, food, clothing, primary healthcare services, safe supplies, blood borne pathogen testing, and physical and emotional care.
• When the Ally Centre closes at 5:00, its clients have no other spaces in which to seek services and a private, welcoming indoor space and often resort to the sheltered outdoor spaces in and around the Centre (awning in front of the Centre, parking lot behind the Centre, spaces around the Highland Arts Theatre across the street).  
• New evening and weekend hours at the Centre allow for extended care and shelter for Centre clients, reducing confrontations between clients and residents in the downtown and ensure a staff presence to enforce Centre rules and expectations in and around the Centre.
• Partners: Ally Centre and the NS Office of Mental Health and Addictions

CBRM RESPONSE PLAN 

The discussions, research, and interviews conducted by the Downtown Committee have culminated in the following recommendations. Although there is some work presently underway that related to the homelessness and addictions crisis in the downtown, more needs to be done. The following recommendations are for new/additional/complimentary interventions.

SHORT-TERM 2023-2024/25

1. Downtown Cameras (CBRP)

• Has been tried in Charlottetown, PEI and in New Glasglow
• Business owners put up cameras; enough cameras to create a network
• Police are granted access and agree to use footage under certain very specific circumstances

2. Adequate Garbage and Sharps Disposal Sites and Collection

While there are a limited number of outdoor sharps containers throughout the CBRM, there is a lack of clarity around who “owns/is responsible” for these. They were obtained with a one-time grant by the CBRM and there is currently no budget for their inspection, maintenance, repair and/or for regularly emptying the units.

We need to:

• Ensure we have enough units and that they are in the right location
• Ensure they are maintained, inspected, repaired, replaced regularly
• Ensure they are being emptied regularly and by the appropriate staff
• Ensure ongoing community education around sharps containers and finding needles

Next Steps:

• Condition Assessment of existing units
• Placement Assessment of existing units
• Fix and/or replace (per Condition Assessment) existing units
• Finalize collection responsibilities, protocols, frequency
• Regular community education via CBRM social media
• Develop maintenance and inspection schedule

Both the Ally Centre and Homeless Shelter also require additional CBRM owned and maintained garbage receptacles outside their buildings. One-two receptacles should be placed outside each and worked into the downtown garbage collection schedule.

One-time Cost: $50,000 (assessments, repairs/replacement of sharps, new garbage cans)

Ongoing Cost: $50,000 (collection of sharps, collection of garbage, inspection, maintenance and repair of sharps containers and garbage)

Proposed Partner: CBRM

3. Safe, Welcoming, Private, Well-Maintained Outdoor Space at Ally Centre

Clients of the Ally Centre spend time outside the Centre for many reasons:

• Many clients smoke and can’t smoke indoors
• Centre is a place of community and places where they feel safe
• These building-specific communities and feelings of safety remain after operating hours

The growing number of clients of the Ally Centre spending some or all of their daytime and/or nighttime hours outside of these buildings has contributed to tensions and conflicts in the downtown.

Neither of these buildings were acquired/designed with outdoor space in mind. Rather, they were acquired because the quantity, quality, and layout of their indoor space would allow these organizations to best meet client needs.

This intervention will create a safe, private, thoughtfully designed outdoor environment for clients of the Ally Centre with seating, awning (protection from rain/snow), garbage, running water, and screens to provide for privacy. It extends the community, dignity, and safety that the Ally Centre has come to represent to outdoor space and provides a welcoming and accessible space (and preferrable to congregation on the sidewalks around the Ally Centre).

A similar site has been identified in proximity to the Shelter, should the Shelter be inclined to likewise create outdoor space.

Proposed Partners: Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Ally Centre of Cape Breton (donors), NS Department of Community Services

4. Mobile Outreach Street Mental Health Team

With 259 individuals identified as being without permanent housing in the December 2022 point-in-time count 40-50 known individuals living in tents in Sydney at present, the homelessness and addictions crisis in has reached a level such that there is a need and logic in bringing mental health, addictions, and other resources to those who are unhoused/on the streets.

Modelled after the MOSH program in Halifax, but altered to focus on mental health and addictions resources, the Mobile Outreach Street Mental Health Team should be comprised of:

• Social Worker
• Mental Health NP
• Outreach Worker

While this effort is distinct from the Halifax-based Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team (MHMCT), there is an interest in exploring whether members of the team could also fill this role.

The Cape Breton Regional Police (CBRP) have identified a need for enhanced in-person mental health staffing to accompany officers on calls involving mental health and or addictions crises.

In Halifax, MHMCT operates via phone 24-7 and has the capacity to respond in person from 1pm to 1am. MHMCT is a co-response model with police and has 4 Halifax Regional Police dedicated to the service and all mobile visits include an MHMCT police officer and a mental health clinician.

A staffing model that can accommodate calls outside of the typical work day (beyond 9am to 5pm) would be required for a dual-purpose Mobile Mental Health Response Team in the CBRM.

Proposed Partners: Nova Scotia Health, NS Office of Mental Health and Addictions, Cape Breton Regional Police, NS Department of Justice

5. Additional Rounds (second round) of Dedicated RHI Funding to CBRM

CMHC’s Rapid Housing Initiative funding is singular in its ability to create deeply affordable housing for vulnerable populations. In November 2022, the CBRM was named for the first time on the list of municipalities slated to receive a designated pot of RHI funding.

The $5 million received will create 25 units of deeply affordable housing for clients of the Ally Centre.

Where it is estimated that an additional 75-100 units of deeply affordable supportive housing are required in the CBRM, it is recommended that the CBRM actively advocate with the Island’s two MPs for inclusion in future RHI rounds of funding.

Proposed Partner: CBRM

6. Daytime Downtown Drop-In Centre

Recently HRM and the Province of Nova Scotia devoted resources to the creation of a safe, welcoming, day-time downtown drop-in Centre to provide those without homes/a place to go during the day with somewhere warm (and cool in the summer) that also hosts support staff and resources. Committee to explore whether this need exists in the CBRM (it is often a gap raised in conversation) once the Pallet Village is open.  

Proposed Partners: New Dawn, DCS, Ally Centre

7. Distribution of Treatment Options

• Downtown Committee to draft list of known treatment programs
• OMHA to fill in gaps and list to be shared with frontline organizations

MEDIUM-TERM 2024/25-2028

1. Municipal Advocacy Related to a Safe, Inclusive, Prosperous Downtown

A. Based on the findings from the recent Turner Drake analysis, and the estimated number of affordable supportive housing units required as per the conclusions of the Downtown Committee, articulate this need/shortage to other levels of governments, advocate for funding for community organizations to build and operate these units, set targets and measure progress towards targets, and commit to working with other levels of government to close the gap.

B. Related to the above, advocate to/with other levels of government to increase the number of public housing units constructed each year in the CBRM. There is currently a waitlist of more than 1200 individuals and a proposed provincial construction of approximately 20 units. More public housing and the efficient use and upgrading of existing public housing is key to resolving CBRM’s housing and homelessness challenges.

In addition to new construction and timely upgrades and placement of tenants, an assessment of the arrears policy is needed. At present, tenants who are in arrears (regardless of the date/age of their arrears) are ineligible for public housing or housing subsidies for rentals in the private rental market.

C. Create a municipal dialogue/municipal leadership on all public spaces as safe and welcoming for all residents of the CBRM. Currently, clients of the Ally Centre and Shelter (among others) do not feel safe and welcome in CBRM public spaces (Wentworth Park, Open Hearth Park, Civic Centre grounds, etc.).

This leadership might follow and build on the FAQs developed by the Downtown Committee. It can be based in the values and vision of the CBRM and should be clear, intentional, educational, and sustained. Might involve Recreation and Parks/Grounds staff for input on challenges and solutions.

Proposed Partner: CBRM

2. Additional Mental Health and Addictions Staffing Resources

Where issues related to mental health and addictions are often (though not always) what lead to residents becoming clients of the Ally Centre and/or Shelter, ensuring that both organizations have sufficient clinical and community personnel on hand is central to helping to stabilize the lives of clients and address the underlying issues leading to homelessness or serious risk of homelessness.

Many community members who are dealing with homelessness and/or addictions are reluctant to seek mental health and addictions services or counselling at the Regional Hospital or other traditional healthcare settings because of their experiences of discrimination, bias, ignorance, and in some cases violence, in these settings. Strategically embedding mental health and addictions resources (staff/clinicians) in frontline organizations (where trust already exists in the client population) ensures they are accessible to those who need them most when they need them most.

The precise mental health and addictions staffing resources needed in the Ally Centre, Homeless Shelter, and Jane Paul Centre should be determined in conversations between these organizations and the OMHA but might include shared (among these three organizations) or dedicated:

• Mental health and addictions clinician (MSW, MH NP, counselor)
• Occupational Therapist
• Outreach Worker

Proposed Partners: NS Department of Health and Wellness, NS Office of Mental Health and Addictions

3. More and Different Kinds of Treatment Programs

An increasing diversity of individuals in the CBRM contending with addictions and seeking treatment means more and different kinds of treatment programs and facilities will be required. For example, programs that dovetail with in-patient withdrawal at the Regional Hospital; withdrawal for addictions not involving alcohol; medium and long-term residency programs, programs that don’t require abstinence for participation but still focus on healing and recovery.

Next Steps:

• Downtown Committee to meet with Dr. Dave Martell to understand new research and directions on treatment in Nova Scotia and share experiences on the ground in CBRM

Proposed Partner: NS Office of Mental Health and Addictions

4. Ninety-Six Additional Supportive Housing Units Throughout CBRM

Given the estimated need of 75-100 additional supportive and affordable housing units to attend to the number of homeless and/or significantly housing insecure individuals, we propose a plan wherein community organizations would construct 12 units each year for the next eight years.

The initial three years of construction (36 units) should prioritize single adults. Single adults are consistently under-served by other housing projects and priorities and over-represented in homeless populations.

These units might be built and operated by entities that currently operate supportive housing (Pathways Cape Breton, Cape Breton Community Housing Association, New Dawn, Jane Paul Centre, Transition House) or organizations that have expressed an interest in becoming housing providers.

Total construction cost: $14.4 million ($300,000 per unit)

Total operating costs for 96 units: $4.8 M (would phase in at 12 units or $600,000/year)

Proposed Partners: NS Department of Community Services, CBRM (surplus land), Housing NS, CMHC