Halifax politician shares his homelessness story to spur action and address the issue
Global News
Liberal MLA and former cabinet minister Brendan Maguire shared his story of being homeless at Province House with the hope to spur government action to address the issue.
Halifax Atlantic MLA Brendan Maguire knows what it’s like to be homeless, having spent time during his teens living on the streets.
The Liberal opposition MLA shared his personal story during the opening session of the legislature at Province House last week, as a way to rally and call on all parties to do more the address the housing and homelessness crisis.
“I wasn’t going to do this but I’ll use my own personal experience,” said Maguire. “I have been homeless and I didn’t care who was in power. The only thing I cared about was what apartment lobby am I going to sleep in.”
Maguire said his biological parents abandoned him and his siblings when he was just four years old and he grew up in multiple foster homes and during his teens lived on the streets of Halifax.
At the time, Maguire said he felt hopeless and that nobody cared.
Now, the former cabinet minister is using his experiences for good, saying he wants to work with the new PC government to make sure they tackle the housing and homelessness crisis head-on. He says he’s never seen the situation this dire.
“If you talk to the service providers, they’ve never seen it like this before,” said Maguire. “The shelters are full. I mean, they are at complete capacity.”
Maguire says the province has the infrastructure and resources available to come up with some quick solutions and says the Halifax Regional Municipality is waiting to partner and help get those experiencing homelessness into safer shelter spaces.