'So many of us don't want to be here': Halifax man living in tent calls for housing solutions

After spending two nights at a shelter to avoid the wrath of post-tropical storm Lee, Roy Bussey returned to Victoria Park in Halifax on Sunday to find his tent and many of his belongings destroyed.

His time in the shelter at the Captain William Spry Centre in Spryfield, N.S., had provided some temporary relief.

"I didn't have to worry about stuff," he said. "There was food in there."

The province made three temporary shelters available to people living at homeless encampments in Halifax during Lee. Around 90 people stayed at those facilities during the storm, it said.

Bussey and others are calling for more permanent solutions to a growing homelessness crisis in Halifax and housing shortage.

Tents are shown at Victoria Park in Halifax on Monday, Sept. 18. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

The 31-year-old said he has several medical conditions and served two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He said some nights at Victoria Park can be loud. He said there's lots of alcohol and drug use happening, and he's worried about the safety of he and his wife.

"So many of us don't want to be here," he said. "We want our own apartments. Income assistance don't got enough money to give us apartments."

It's a sentiment shared by Lucas Goltz, the program co-ordinator for the downtown Halifax navigator outreach program. He said he has more clients each passing week.

"We have so many people who are on income assistance, they're on disability, that are finding themselves out here because they can't afford anything else in the rental market," he said.

With winter around the corner and a growing homeless population in Halifax, he wants all levels of government to stop pointing fingers at each other and create more "deeply affordable housing."

In a statement, the Department of Community Services said it's working with municipalities and community partners to finalize shelter plans for the winter months.

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"There is no question that having additional shelter space is critical to helping people who are unhoused during extreme and cold weather," it said.

Lucas Goltz, the program co-ordinator for Halifax's downtown navigator outreach program, says he's seeing more homeless people each week. (Dave Laughlin/CBC)

Goltz said that with many people's tents and belongings destroyed because of Lee, he expected he'd be giving out around 30 replacements. As people rebuild, he said there's a feeling of hopelessness and despair.

"'How am I going to dig myself out of this hole that I'm currently in here in an encampment?'" he said.

With a provincewide housing shortage and expensive rents, Bussey said he can't find affordable housing.

For now, he said his plans for winter are to get a 10-person tent and a smaller one to set up inside of it, with the hope it keeps he and his wife warm.

"That's the best way I can do right now," he said.

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