07/21/2023
One of our amazing grads and amazing faculty - making a difference!
Alisha Christie, (singer, dancer, actor, choreographer) has been working with Dr. Mary Sweatman on a research project. (Actually some of you may know Mary in her theatrical life as a member of our Fezziwig team - along with her stellar young son, Charlie.)
Here are some excerpts from that report:
“In 2022, researchers Dr. Mary Sweatman and Alisha Christie conducted a survey — Community Support and Service-Based Count on Rural Homelessness — between Digby and West Hants. This was done in partnership between Acadia University’s Department of Community Development and the Homeless No More Annapolis Valley initiative.
Sweatman and Christie have presented their findings to several municipal councils throughout the Annapolis Valley, most recently West Hants council on June 13.”
…….
“Christie pointed out that the two largest groups they’ve identified are provisionally homeless at 44.5 per cent and those at risk of homelessness at 25.5 per cent, so there is opportunity for prevention.
Christie said some people have found it surprising that statistics on income show that there are people with full- or part-time employment or who are receiving income assistance who are also experiencing homelessness.
Regarding barriers to accessing housing, 83 per cent identified that rent is too high; 78 per cent cited low income; and 74 per cent pointed to poor housing options or conditions.
Christie said they’ve been asking municipal councils what the formula is for affordable rent, which is a valid but nuanced question.
She said they’re trying to figure out how to sufficiently answer that question. They’re looking to the model of co-operative housing where rent including utilities is based on 30 per cent of an individual’s income. This can help address a housing shortage while also helping to build community.
One recent example is an affordable housing project announced for New Minas through the provincial Land for Housing Initiative that involves the Valley Roots Housing Association.
Christie said one consistent message they are hearing from service providers involved in the 2022 count is that they are overworked. They’re often trying to be everything to their rural clients because they recognize that many have nowhere else to turn.
“There’s a large funding discrepancy in our province and across Canada for rural areas in comparison to the urban centres for service providers,” Christie said.
She said there is no one obvious solution to the problem of rural homelessness, but in many ways, “housing is health care.” Housing is a human right, yet there are many people in the community who remain unhoused.
“Housing is more than shelter, and it always has been, and it’s choosing to see it that way,” Christie said.
From a harm reduction and trauma informed approach, she said they’re hoping to create choice. Safe, affordable housing means different things to different people, and is more a case of “one size fits one” than “one size fits all.” Current housing options tend to be quite linear.
“That’s the real crux of it, of when we’re talking about our housing, that we’re creating a housing stock that allows for choice at any stage of it,” Christie said.
She said it’s important to acknowledge that anyone could potentially find themselves homeless, but homelessness doesn’t define the individual. Christie said these individuals are not statistics, but whole people, and one part of their identity isn’t the only aspect of who they are.
The Homeless No More Community Support and Service-Based Count on Rural Homelessness was supported by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia; Acadia University, the Town of Kentville, the Portal Youth Outreach Association, and the Nova Scotia Department of Community Services.”
