The housing support worker initiative was launched with local community agencies in 2011 – and in just a few years, the impact is being felt on the streets.
Since the program began, 1,300 more people living in stable housing by the close of 2014.
“Living in our society, we are often unprepared for homelessness,” says Karen Spurr, a housing support worker at Halifax’s Barry House. “You can always be one major stress or one job loss away from homelessness. We can help – we’ve been through it all before.”
Community college student Trevor LaPier has struggled in the past, so he really appreciates being at a new stage in his life.
Building relationships with private landlords is crucial for the housing support workers.
Fiona “Katia” Cross finally has a place to put down roots after a stretch of time in temporary housing. She fusses happily over a Boston fern in her bright apartment in Halifax’s Clayton Park neighborhood.
Many Nova Scotians living in housing co-operatives will soon benefit from repairs made through funding from the Social Housing Assistance Repair Program (SHARP).