Unsanitary conditions, rooms without locks among 'failures' at shelter sites, says official

Taryn Grant · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

Unhygienic conditions, bedrooms without locks and assaults against residents were among the problems plaguing 2 supportive lodging sites successful Halifax earlier the state chopped ties with the non-profit managing the locations, a authorities authoritative alleged Monday.

Suzanne Ley, executive manager of employment enactment and income assistance with the Department of Opportunities and Social Development, said she knew conditions were subpar astatine the sites, but the afloat grade of the problems was not known until Out of the Cold was dismissed and she took a person look astatine the situation.

"I would accidental determination are immoderate beauteous important failures successful things similar information and infrastructure," she said.

Ley said she received reports of non-residents entering the sites astatine nighttime and assaulting the occupants. The facilities lacked successful immoderate basal supplies, specified arsenic drinking cups. Ley also said unit were not helping residents entree wellness care, and successful immoderate cases adjacent "gatekeeping" oregon "being a barrier" to wellness care.

"The level of enactment truly doesn't bespeak what is needed successful a high-acuity mounting similar this," Ley said.

In an interrogation past week, Out of the Cold said it was blindsided by the divided and thought it had been addressing concerns antecedently raised by the province. The group's committee and enactment declined to remark immoderate further pursuing Ley's caller accusations.

Ley's section abruptly ended its declaration with Out of the Cold past week aft partnering with the group for the past 3 years. The radical ran 2 supportive lodging sites — one successful Halifax and 1 successful Dartmouth — with capableness for much than 60 people.

Ley said galore of the residents were chronically stateless anterior to being admitted, and galore are dealing with cause and intoxicant addiction and/or intelligence illness.

The state has opened respective supportive lodging sites successful caller years, with the type of enactment varying by determination and by resident. Ley said the two sites Out of the Cold was moving are intended to supply among the astir intensive level of enactment available.

Previous threat of termination

In August of 2023, the section told Out of the Cold successful a missive that it was acrophobic about "criminal activity," including allegations of cause and quality trafficking, inadequate enactment for residents, inadequate grooming for unit and delays successful accountability reporting.

The state threatened termination, unless a fig of conditions were met.

Ley said aft that, the section worked with the non-profit and hired a advisor to assistance the group. She said Out of the Cold was showing efforts astatine improvement. 

"We felt truly optimistic successful 2024," she said.

But, she recalls, not each interest was addressed, and immoderate issues that were addressed gradually came back.

Ley said the Justice Department has doubly investigated the operations. She did not elaborate connected those probes. When the 2nd probe began past fall, she said her section began preparing to modulation to a caller work provider.

The Atlantic Community Shelter Society took implicit for Out of the Cold past week. On the time of the transition, the Department of Opportunities and Social Development complained to Halifax Regional Police astir the sites. Neither the section nor constabulary would supply immoderate different details.

The vice-chair of the committee for Out of the Cold said past week helium suspected that portion of the divided was owed to Out of the Cold's harm-reduction approach, which did not necessitate residents to beryllium sober, successful a betterment program, oregon medicated if they were dealing with intelligence illness.

He said helium expected caller rules for residents, such arsenic restrictions connected cause oregon intoxicant usage oregon requirements for residents to travel prescribed attraction programs.

Ley said "residents volition spot and consciousness a quality successful their day-to-day," but insisted that did not mean rolling retired new, stricter rules.

"We privation to marque definite that radical are capable to travel arsenic themselves, travel with each of their challenges and beryllium supported successful immoderate the adjacent measurement looks like," she said.

Ley said immoderate changes would beryllium successful the involvement of safety, specified arsenic ensuring needles are being disposed of appropriately and rooms are being kept clean.