Nova ScotiaIn 2022, a point-in-time count revealed there were 586 people experiencing homelessness. That number increased to 1,132 in 2024, marking a 93 per cent increase in those two years.Point-in-time count reveals 93% increase between 2022 and 2024Karsten Greene · CBC News · Posted: Aug 12, 2025 4:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoIn this file photo, tents can be seen at an encampment in Lower Sackville in 2023. (Craig Paisley/CBC)Homelessness is on the rise in Halifax, according to new data collected by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.Last week, Halifax regional council was given a presentation on the municipality’s “point-in-time” count, which outlines the number of people experiencing homelessness in the region over a two-year period.In 2022, there were 586 people without a proper home in the municipality. That number increased to 1,132 in 2024, marking a 93 per cent increase in those two years.”There’s definitely an increase in housing insecurity and food insecurity that we can’t ignore,” Marni Yuke, chief program officer at Souls Harbour Rescue Mission, told CBC Radio’s Information Morning Nova Scotia.The mission operates several homeless shelters across the province to help address the issue.Despite the increase, the count found that in the same two-year period, there were 50 per cent fewer people sleeping rough.A 33-bed men’s shelter operated by Souls Harbour Rescue Mission opened inside St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Brunswick Street in Halifax in February. (Patrick Callaghan/CBC)Yuke said this is likely due to their opening of a new men’s shelter in February, and the opening of tiny homes and Pallet shelters in HRM.”It’s like a balancing act,” Yuke said.”We did open more beds to try and get people off the streets and out of living rough, but there’s still a big problem, I would say, on our hands,” she said, adding that their new 33-bed men’s shelter on Brunswick Street is full every night.Dwight Thorne is one person who has been staying there.Originally from Newfoundland, Thorne came to Halifax for work, but was unexpectedly laid off by his employer. Without any money or a plan to return home, he ended up living on the streets.Souls Harbour was able to give him a bed, but he said he still feels uncertain about his future.He said he’s planning to return to Newfoundland with the help of income support services.”That’s my best option right now because I don’t know — I can’t, I can’t sustain [it]. This lifestyle, it gets exhausting.”More people coming to the sheltersYuke said as more people come into the shelter for help, she’s been seeing some trends develop.One is that the rescue mission is seeing more people with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs.It has also seen an increase in people who need access to showers and hygiene products. Through their daily “free mart,” she said they give out about 70-80 hygiene products every day.”It’s not just food insecurity and housing insecurity,” Yuke said. “It’s like everyday-items insecurity — of having a shower or having just soap or deodorant or a clean pair of socks or underwear — stuff we kind of take for granted that we would just normally just pull out of our drawer or have in the cabinet, people just don’t have.”Information Morning – NSHomelessness numbers jumped almost 100% over two years in HRMA recent count found 1,132 people in HRM experienced homelessness in 2024, a 93% increase since the last count in 2022. CBC’s Carsten Knox speaks with Dwight Thorne, who stays at a shelter on Brunswick Street. And to take a closer look at the issue, we hear from Souls Harbour Rescue Mission and the North End Community Health Centre. Yuke said along with these trends, the rescue mission has also seen an influx of people experiencing homelessness for the first time. She said that’s typically due to job losses and the high cost of living which often leads to evictions.”As we’re fixing some problems in some places, it’s coming up in other places,” she said.ABOUT THE AUTHORKarsten Greene is a reporter for CBC Nova Scotia.With files from Carsten Knox
Halifax’s homeless population nearly doubled in 2 years, new data shows
