Halifax man counts his blessings with move from homeless encampment
CBC
As he sets up Christmas decorations in his new one-bedroom apartment, Jesse Vincent can hardly believe how much his life has changed in a few months.
He spent two years living in a tent at a large homeless encampment on University Avenue in downtown Halifax. Now, he has a spot in affordable, supportive housing.
"I get to wake up and everything's different now," Vincent said in an interview Tuesday. "I can get up and walk around, open the window, breathe fresh air, make a coffee.
"Everything's easy now. I'm really, really lucky."
Vincent said he lost his last apartment after a dispute over a rental increase. He stayed in a shelter for a while before ending up in a tent. At the encampment, things went from bad to worse.
"We had nowhere to go and everybody's stressed out," he said. "They're poor, there's no food and they're cold and probably wearing the same clothes and … they're crying."
But this summer, everything changed for him.
Vincent said he was walking on Spring Garden Road and saw someone working in a garden. He loves plants, so he decided to give out his number and offer to work some odd jobs.
Lucas Goltz, the program co-ordinator for the Navigator Outreach Program in Halifax, said the Downtown Halifax Business Commission hired Vincent to work six hours a week cleaning up the street, as part of an employment program for people who are struggling with homelessness and want to transition back into the workforce.
"Being able to get back to work is a huge thing," Goltz said. "There's that purpose, there's that dignity that we all strive for in life."
Then Goltz helped Vincent get a spot in supportive housing with Shelter Nova Scotia at a Cunard Street apartment building the charity owns called The Rebuilding.
The building's manager said it has 19 units, with 24/7 support from case managers and support staff. It takes people from the by-name list that tracks people experiencing homelessness, and they all pay a set rent under $1,000.
Goltz said he's been helping people from the de-designated encampment on University Avenue move into new supportive housing, tiny homes and shelters that have been opening up around the municipality.
He said he's encouraged by the push from provincial and municipal governments to house people living rough, and when he sees Vincent warm and dry, it brings a smile to his face. But he said there's more to be done.
Moving to Canada from Singapore meant losing close social connections for Iris Akbar, but Akbar says the gift was in finding an affirming space with friends that became like family.
Women and children staying at Regina Transition House now have access to Santa’s workshop — a safe space where mothers can choose Christmas gifts for their children.
A man from Powell River, B.C., is thankful to be alive after a stranger helped him while he was choking at a restaurant during a visit to Whistler.
When it comes to Hamilton readers' favourite library books of 2025, romance and mysteries are in close competition.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.
The racial reckoning of the COVID era saw Canada grapple with its checkered past — a process that led to statues of some foundational figures being removed, in some instances by force.
Holiday traditions are front and centre for many people at this time of year. But one Uxbridge family's Christmas tradition goes above and beyond the standard Christmas carols or holiday party.