“Everyone pays the price” – Bridgewater organization tackles the many facets of housing insecurity
During the unprecedented floods and rainfall of last summer, at least 200 people in Lunenburg and Queens counties, including many children, had nowhere to live. Some stayed in temporary shelters like tents. Others moved between couches and spare rooms. Many remained in housing that was unhealthy or unsafe. Now, as winter approaches, the number of people unhoused or facing housing insecurity is only increasing.
“When you lose your house, everything else crumbles,” says Shannan Cragg. “You can’t move forward in your life.”
Shannan is a housing support worker with the South Shore Open Doors Association (SSODA), a non-profit organization based in Bridgewater. SSODA acts as a central hub for anyone experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.
“People can be housing-insecure for lots of reasons,” Shannan says. “For most of our clients, it’s due to renovation or sale of a unit. But they might also be living with the threat of domestic violence or in a place that is not accessible. They might be paying so much for rent that there’s no money for food – or so much in energy bills that there’s no money for rent.”
SSODA recognizes that all of these things are connected: housing, food, transportation, physical and mental health, accessibility and inclusion, personal safety, cell phones, energy costs, and more.
“Any one of these can be a trigger that spirals into homelessness or prevents someone from finding secure housing,” says Shannan. For this reason, SSODA is one of few organizations to offer “coordinated access.” Coordinated access directs clients to the range of services they need. That could be a bus pass, the address of a food bank, information about energy upgrades, or emergency shelter during a storm.
The Town of Bridgewater drew the connection between housing insecurity and energy poverty early in the development of the Energize Bridgewater project. Energize Bridgewater offers programs to help residents reduce their home energy costs. Participants can receive funding and financing for home energy upgrades like heat pumps and insulation. People who are struggling to pay their energy bills are often struggling in other ways too. Partnering with SSODA allows Energize Bridgewater to provide a broader range of supports to people in the community.
While providing coordinated access services, SSODA maintains a housing-first approach. Housing is a human right in Canada and SSODA believes that secure, affordable, accessible housing is necessary for people to address other challenges in their lives. SSODA manages a database of clients who need housing as well as a list of available units. Since opening in May 2022, SSODA has helped 96 households find housing. The problem, of course, is that the number of clients is getting larger and the number of units is shrinking.
Lack of available housing is the biggest barrier to SSODA’s work. The second biggest barrier? Lack of awareness. Homelessness can be hidden in rural areas due to concerns about privacy and stigma or simply the assumption that it’s a city problem.
“My clients are just regular people,” Shannan says. “Anyone can be homeless, but everyone pays the price. We pay it in healthcare costs, when kids can’t learn in school, even when residents in a community are more anxious about their own situation or those of their neighbours.”
SSODA is supported by the Town of Bridgewater, provincial and federal governments, and the Affordable Housing Association of NS. They also rely on private donations. They accept financial donations and are in need of specific items such as tents, bedding, and cell phones. “And a storage locker,” Shannan says. “We really need a storage locker for larger items like mattresses.”
Lunenburg and Queens County residents currently experiencing housing insecurity can contact SSODA at 902-521-0994 or intake@ssoda.org. Bridgewater residents who are struggling to afford home energy costs can contact 902-530-3621 or info@energizebridgewater.ca.