More than 30% of clients at Cape Breton's Ally Centre say they are homeless

A Cape Breton non-profit group says the number of clients it is seeing who are homeless has doubled compared to last year.

The Ally Centre in Sydney helps people with mental health, addiction and homelessness issues. Of the 683 clients who have visited this year, 30 per cent say they are homeless.

Christine Porter, the Ally Centre's executive director, said this includes people who are sleeping rough, couch surfing or relying on a local shelter.

She said more than twice as many clients are sleeping in a tent. 

"For the population that we serve here at the Ally Centre, we need housing stock," she said. "We need safe, affordable housing. Not tents, not rooms. We need housing."

Porter said many new faces are coming to the centre compared to previous years. She said the numbers are only for her organization, and do not paint the full picture of the housing situation on the island.

In May, CBRM council stated its intention to add affordable housing to its strategic plan. Studies show CBRM leads Nova Scotia for low income and lack of housing.

Porter said the centre has been handing out tents to individuals and families. Given high prices for rent, low housing stock and the increasing cost of supplies, Porter expects to see the problem getting worse through the fall and winter.

"We'll see a lot more evictions for people not able to pay the rent because they have to eat," she said. "We're all … a paycheque away from that."

In recent years, the province announced a $5-million investment in a Cape Breton University housing project, while CBRM is going to spend $5 million in federal affordable housing.

Housing Minister John Lohr said the province has made significant investments in CBRM, but knows more needs to be done.

"We're working across the province in many ways to increase supply," he said.

This comes at a time when a Halifax councillor called for more tent sites to be opened in the municipality.

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