A section of the Halifax commons could become a tent site for those experiencing homelessness, on North Park and Cogswell Streets.

Halifax council will vote on the recommendation today, amid the housing crisis in our region.

The recommendation is one of five in the Homeless Strategy Report that is on the agenda:

• leasing private property for shelter
• allowing tents on a section of the Halifax Common
• establish additional encampments, tiny home locations on all types of municipality-owned property
• write to the province to ask for their immediate plans for affordable housing
• explore options for those sheltering in a vehicle such as non-park properties and campgrounds

The report says 18 people were unsheltered in our community five years ago, but according to the Sleeping Rough Survey, that has jumped to 178.

More than double, from November 2022.

The Affordable Housing of Nova Scotia By Name list says of August 2023, there are 1012 people experiencing homelessness in HRM. That’s a nearly 60% increase from the year before and a 500% increase from 2018.

The province has added 64 beds to shelters in addition to 304 new supportive housing units. The report says, without these efforts, there could be double the amount of homelessness than there is now.

Last year, HRM designated spaces, that were intended to house 44 tents.  This year, over 90 tents use those spaces.

With the cost of living, homelessness is expected to grow.