The volunteer group behind the Halifax crisis shelters says they were surprised by the city’s decision to remove three of them on Friday.
Halifax Mutual Aid (HMA) is now asking the municipality to give the group time to dismantle and store the remaining units.
The municipality states staff took away the shelters at three locations because they deemed no one was using them and anyone using the shelters as a place to call home were being offered a hotel or other accommodations.
Halifax Mutual Aid built these temporary shelters for homeless people. This one is located at the old library on Spring Garden Road. Credit: Steve MacArthur
Below is an explanation from the municipality as to their reasoning behind the removal of those specific units.
· Crathorne Park (Dartmouth) – This shelter was removed following confirmation that the occupant had accepted temporary accommodations offered by the province.
· Victoria Park (Halifax) – The municipality determined the shelter to be vacated following confirmation that there had been no activity at this temporary shelter in recent days. On Wednesday, July 7, municipal staff placed locks on the vacated shelter. When municipal staff arrived on site this morning, they confirmed there was no occupant on site and there were no personal belongings present.
· Raymond Taavel Park (Halifax) – The municipality determined the shelter to be vacated following confirmation that there had been no activity at this temporary shelter in recent days. On Wednesday, July 7, municipal staff placed locks on the vacated shelter. When municipal staff arrived on site this morning, they confirmed there was no occupant on site and there were no personal belongings present.
Meantime, the city issued eviction notices on Tuesday, stating residents needed to leave by July 13 or they would step in and remove them without warning. However, the three shelters that were moved on Friday caught some people off guard.
Crews used a fork-lift to scoop up the small wooden shelters earlier in the day.
The municipality clarified its position in a release sent out late on Friday.
“The deadline date of July 13 was not a commitment by the municipality to refrain from removal of the temporary shelters prior to this date – rather, it was a notification that the shelters must be vacated by occupants and removed by those who installed them no later than July 13.” the release said.
Notice posted on temporary shelter on July 6, 2021. Credit: Steve MacArthur
The municipality has found temporary accommodations for six people relying on the shelters for a dry place to sleep.
According to Halifax Mutual Aid (HMA), the small wooden shelters cost about $1,400 to build in materials, but they have been receiving a lot of donations to help with costs.
The crisis shelters started popping up in January as a band-aid solution to a lack of affordable housing options in the city. The shelters have a door which locks, they are protected by a tin roof, have a window in the back and are built to stay warm in winter and cooler in summer.
They are built when a request is made to the group, the person is then given a key and they are assembled at their desired location. The volunteer group keeps a key in case the original gets lost.
The person is put on a wait list at first, until their hut is ready, and all the group asks in return is that if the person finds permanent housing to let them know so someone else can use the shelter.
“It locks, which has been really important to people, especially the occupants who have jobs. They often have tools of their trades, mostly construction/trade tools.“ an anonymous HMA member told our newsroom.
There are 14 of them (now 11) scattered through the Halifax area, some are in the woods and some are in high traffic areas like the Halifax Memorial Library on Spring Garden Road.
Temporary Shelters in Downtown Halifax Credit: Steve MacArthur
“They’re designed by excellent builders. They’re not pretty, but the occupants love them.“ said HMA.
Halifax is seeing tremendous growth but it’s also faced with a vacancy rate that sitting between one and two per cent for the past few years.
The average rent in Halifax is $1,170. It marks an increase of 4 percent since last year according to data provided by the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CHMC).
HMA originally refused to dismantle the shelters because it said they still saw a great need and have a long wait list of people in need of a crisis shelter.
