As the city backs down on its call for tenters to vacate Halifax’s Grand Parade, two community members are stepping up to provide support.
Steve Wilsack and his friend Matthew Grant have set up a comfort station at the site where people can keep warm, charge their phones, and pick up supplies such as rain gear.
“We want to be the last tent here,” said Grant. “So we’re here for the duration. Whatever unfolds we’ll be here for it.”
Steve Wilsack says he had to help the community. He even met with the mayor to advocate on their behalf after the city announced plans to encourage people to leave the site for other locations such as the new winter shelter in Dartmouth.
“I love Nova Scotia. This is my home. I’ve been here all my life. I work in the film industry. We were filming … and I looked up here and I saw this,” he says with tears in his eyes. “And I was ashamed that people would see this. I had to do something about it.”
Leahann Zinck has been calling Grand Parade home for several months now. Although she and her boyfriend work, they’ve not been able to find a place to live.
“I’ve tried everything. I’ve tried offering extra money to get a place to live,” she says. “AirBnBs — that’s one thing we’re also looking at too — but it’s expensive in the long run. We’ll pay $1,600 for the month, but not be guaranteed a place, the next month.”
She says they’ve settled at Grand Parade because it’s safer than other encampments.
“There’s security, it’s more public, City Hall is right there, and of course, this place has a lot of history behind it — it’s a well-respected area,” Zinck says.
Recently the city encouraged people living at the square to leave due to safety concerns around snow removal. On Wednesday, it backtracked on those plans.
Moving forward the city says it will work with the people living at the site to help cut down on the number of tents to eight.
“I am always a big believer in compromise. I believe there are things we have to do. We have to do the plowing. We have to do holiday events and whatnot,” says Bedford-area councillor Tim Outhit. “I think there’s room for both and I think while we’re helping these people to get to something better, there has to be flexibility on both sides.”
Zinck says she isn’t worried.
“We’re not here to cause any problems or drama,” she says. “If they really want us out of here we’ll leave.”
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