‘It has given me a sense of peace’: Beacon House installs micro-shelter for temporary housing – Halifax | globalnews.ca

A community-driven organization in Lower Sackville is stepping up amid a growing homeless population in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

Beacon House has set up four micro shelters in addition to providing warming centers and overnight shelter.

For the client, Melanie Jacquard, Help has been life-changing.

“It was a nightmare. Many cold nights and wondering if you were going to make it to the next day,” she said, reflecting on living out of her car for the past six years.

Thanks to Beacon House, Jacquard now has a warm place to call his own.

“This was the best Christmas I could have ever asked for. It is going to give me a chance to get myself together and get back on my feet again,” she told Global News.

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Beacon House and the United Way built temporary housing on donated church property. Each unit includes a bed, blankets, heat and power.

The project was in response to people living in tents in Lower Sackville, as in other places in the area.

“It’s a lack of supply. It’s a tight rental market. All of these things affect people’s ability to find something they can afford and to live in cars,” said Jim Graham, executive director of the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia. There are people living because they can’t afford to rent.

The association has found that the number of homeless in HRM has more than doubled in the last two years.

So Beacon House has tried to help by operating a warming center and shelter. While board member Jim Gunn says community support has been unwavering, demand has increased.

“Try to be aware of what we are doing and try to learn about this service. The more we can share information about it, the more it is appreciated and the more it is understood.” is,” he said.

He says there are plans to build more micro-shelters to meet the demand.

As for Jacquard, she says the temporary living status will allow her to look for a job in the coming weeks and has restored her sense of self-worth.

“All the good things you lose and people provide like washroom facilities, even a hot coffee or a hot meal. It has given me a sense of peace and of feeling whole again,” she said .

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