Housing crisis stretching Adsum’s limited resources

In June alone, 55 families turned to the organization for help, and that number does not include individual adults

CITYnews halifax \ Meghan Groff

Listen to this article

Halifax’s housing crisis is creating a spike in demand for services offered by Adsum for Women and Children.

In June alone, 55 families — including more than 100 children — turned to the organization for help. And that number does not include individual adults.

“It’s a lot of first time requests for services,” stated Rylee Booroff with Adsum’s Shelter Diversion Support Program. “We’re talking to folks who have never had to turn to services before, which really speaks volumes about how desperate the situation is.”

Booroff told CityNews Halifax, each family’s situation is unique, but renovictions and landlords selling properties seem to be big reasons why so many are struggling.

“It’s no secret that Halifax’s real estate market is booming so there’s a lot of incentive for landlords to sell,” she explained. “And when they sell, a new person takes ownership.”

“It leaves families who have been housed stably for sometimes five, 10 or 15 years in the same site being evicted and forced into this new rental market, which is desolate.”

Generally people don’t reach out for help until they’ve already exhausted all other options, including whatever savings they had. Some of those families are currently living in campgrounds or their vehicles.

Adsum is doing what it can to help, but Booroff said resources are limited.

When a family reaches out for assistance, the first step is a quick triage assessment to understand the situation and potential solutions.

“If we can help them with any sort of rental arrears, if we can support them with a damage deposit and first month’s rent if they’ve got an option lined up but don’t have enough money to secure it, sometimes it’s gift cards for groceries, sometimes it’s fast food if the person is in a precarious situation with no access to a kitchen, gas cards so they can transport themselves to a family member,” Booroff outlined.

In an situation where someone has no option for a safe place to stay, as a last resort, they’ll try to arrange emergency accommodations.

In a tweet, Adsum says it is supporting more than 100 people in hotels, but the situation is only temporary, and only a few hotels are currently working with the organization.

“We listen, we do our best, but it’s important to understand we only have so many resources to offer folks,” she explained.

“Unfortunately it’s not as simple as folks and families reaching out to us saying they’re looking for somewhere to stay and for us to be able to shuffle them in, because we do not have affordable housing to offer.”

Adsum has paired up with Welcome Housing and Support Services for a tent and sleeping bag drive.

New or lightly used items can be dropped off until Aug. 9.

In partnership with @adsumforwomen, we are launching our annual tent and sleeping bag drive for those in need this summer. Thank you so much in advance! pic.twitter.com/X4NguN5sx5

— Welcome Housing & Support Services (@welcomehousing) July 5, 2022