The anti -hygienic conditions, the rooms without locks and assaults against the residents were among the problems that affected two support housing sites in Halifax before the province reduced the ties with the non -profit organization that manages the locations, a government official alleged Monday.
Suzanne Law, Executive Director of Labor Support and Income Assistance with the Department of Opportunities and Social Development, said she knew that the conditions were deficient in the sites, but the total scope of the problems was not known until it was the cold and that she took a closer look at the situation.
“I would say that there are some fairly significant failures in things such as safety and infrastructure,” he said.
Law said he received reports from non -residents who entered the sites at night and assaulted the occupants. The facilities lacked some basic supplies, such as drinking cups. Law also said that the personnel were not helping residents to access medical care and, in some cases, even “on guard” or “being a barrier” for medical care.
“The level of support really does not reflect what is needed in an environment of high precious such as this,” said law.
In an interview last week, out of the cold, he said he was blind for the division and thought he had approached the concerns previously raised by the province. The Board and Leadership of the group declined to comment after the new accusations of law.
The law department abruptly ended its contract with outside the cold last week after associating with the group for the last three years. The group executed two support housing sites, one in Halifax and another in Dartmouth, with capacity for more than 60 people.
Law said that many of the residents were chronically homeless before being admitted, and many are dealing with drug addiction and alcohol and/or mental illnesses.
The province has opened several support housing sites in recent years, with the type of support that varies according to location and resident. Law said that the two sites outside the cold were working to provide between the most intensive support level available.
Previous Threat of Termination
In August 2023, the department told Out The Frid in a letter that was concerned about “criminal activity”, including drug trafficking accusations and people, inappropriate support for residents, inadequate training for personnel and delays in responsibility reports.
The province threatened the termination, unless a series of conditions were met.
Law said after that, the department worked with the non -profit organization and hired a consultant to help the group. She said outside the cold showing improvement efforts.
“We feel really optimistic in 2024,” he said.
But, remember, not all the concerns were addressed, and some problems that were gradually approached.
Law said the Department of Justice has investigated operations twice. She did not elaborate those probes. When the second investigation began last fall, he said that his department began preparing to make the transition to a new service provider.
Atlantic Community Shelter Society took over the cold last week. On the day of the transition, the Department of Opportunities and Social Development complained to the Regional Police of Halifax on the sites. Neither the department nor the police would provide any other detail.
The vice president of the Board of For The Cold said last week that he suspected that part of the division was due to the decrease in cold damage, which did not require residents to be sober, in a recovery or medicated program if they were dealing with mental illnesses.
He said he expected new rules for residents, as restrictions on the use of drugs or alcohol or requirements for residents to follow the prescription treatment programs.
Law said that “residents will see and feel a difference in their day to day,” but insisted that that did not mean implementing new and stricter rules.
“We want to make sure that people can come like themselves, come with all their challenges and be supported by whatever the next step,” he said.
Law said that any change would be interested in security, such as ensuring that needles are properly eliminated and that the rooms remain clean.
