A rainy Monday in Halifax may be better than snow — since it’s almost December.
But damp weather, no matter what, creates extra challenges for people without a home.
“There is a definite sense of urgency to it,” says Sam Austin, councillor for Dartmouth Centre. “When we look at the issue, the quickest thing we could do was to bring in modular housing. And this is housing like you’d find on a remote worksite.”
Halifax Regional Municipality expects to hand over the keys to Out of the Cold Community Association, a frontline agency, by the end of December, Austin says.
A municipal update says installation of the modular units is expected wrap up by Dec. 20.
There will be room for 24 people at a location on Alderney Drive.
Coun. Austin is holding an information session Monday night in response to feedback he’s received already about the project.
A Halifax location, yet to be publicly announced, will have space for 44 people.
The municipality has kicked in $3.2-million to the project, while the province is providing $2.7-million to Out of the Cold.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth is also providing shelter. They’re having 17 to 20 individual units built for parish properties in HRM and the surrounding area.
Those units are to be ready by Dec. 24.
Archbishop Brian Dunn says homelessness became a top priority when he took over a year ago.
“The idea was to really acknowledge that this is a major concern, not only in Halifax but throughout the whole archdiocese,” says Dunn.
The archdiocese just got the green light from the municipality to have these shelters on their properties. The total project cost — to be raised — is about $230,000.
Engineering design has been donated.
“They’re well-put-together shelters and that drives the cost,” says John Stevens, the project manager with the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth.
Stevens says owning the properties and having the engineering firm ready to work rapidly will help the archdiocese achieve the tight timeline.