The Affordable Housing and Homelessness Working Group, The Strait Richmond Housing Matters Coalition, The Health Promotion Team in Mental Health and Addictions, and NS Health partnered with Cape Breton University to carry out a service based homeless count throughout Cape Breton Island and Antigonish and Guysborough Counties.
It was determined that in Eastern Nova Scotia, 419 people aged 16 and older identified as experiencing some form of homelessness. 64 children were also reported to be under the care of people dealing with homelessness.
The report highlighted the number of people living with homelessness and mental illness is over 50%.
“Having access to and understanding concrete data on how many people are experiencing homelessness and living in precarious housing situations is key for rural communities to respond to the housing crisis” says Amanda Mombourquette Co Chair of Strait Richmond Housing Matters Coalition and warden of Richmond County, adding that the coalition was pleased to be a partner in this project and is grateful to have received the funding to make this happen.
Erika Shea, President and CEO of New Dawn Enterprises and a member of Affordable Housing and Homelessness Working Group stated the timeliness of this project has never been more important as housing and homelessness has become a significant issue throughout the province.
Funding support was provided by CLARI Community Engagement Research Grants and the MITACS Business Strategy Internship Program. CLARI is a cross province, multi post secondary education partnership designed to support Nova Scotia Communities with academic and research expertise.
