Why Housing First?

Before I begin, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you. Thank you for taking the time to read this piece and for being part of this very important conversation. Regardless of which side of the proverbial fence you sit on, you are participating, and that matters. That is where change begins.

I also want to express my gratitude to those who have been supporting Viola’s Place Society during these challenging times, especially as of late. Without you, this work becomes increasingly hard. This is not a situation that will be fixed by lone actors. I have said time and time again, this will only be solved as a community. To quote an African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” We cannot go fast, and we desperately need to go far. We need to do this together. Thank you, and you, and you, and the list goes on.

Now, to the matter at hand.

By now, many of you have likely heard the public service announcements on Stingray radio stations 97.9 and 94.1. I am referring to the spots discussing homelessness that end with the tagline “Housing First.” While this is a poignant way to end these messages, Housing First is not just a slogan. It is a proven methodology for ending homelessness. When put into action effectively, it has demonstrated measurable benefits for individuals and for the communities in which they live.

Given the data being shared by the Town of New Glasgow around the financial impacts the municipality is facing due to the increase in unhoused individuals, I want to talk about the role Housing First principles can play in this situation. I am going to use specific examples and factual data from our neighbours in Halifax and Moncton. 

Yes, New Glasgow and Pictou County are smaller than the communities being referenced. That said, the data clearly illustrates the financial impact Housing First can have, regardless of scale. I could write an entirely separate piece on the social benefits, but for this one, I want to stay firmly in the financial realm.

Let’s start by grounding ourselves in what Housing First principles actually are:

Housing First means housing is treated as a basic starting point, not a reward. It is the foundation for stability, not something that must be earned.

Housing is permanent and dignified. This means real homes such as apartments or townhouses that are integrated into the community. Housing is not segregated, and it is intended to be long term.

Supports are offered, not forced. They are voluntary, flexible, and matched to the needs of the individual.

Choice and dignity matter. There must be respect for the autonomy of the individual.

Housing First uses harm reduction approaches. This acknowledges that change takes time, that relapses may happen, and that progress is not always linear. The goal is safety, stability, and reduced harm, not perfection.

Finally, the aim is stability, not crisis management. When people are housed first, emergency room visits drop, police and by-law calls decrease, public spaces are less stressed, and costs become predictable rather than reactive.

By the early 2020s, emergency shelters across the province began receiving more active provincial funding. Prior to that, many survived primarily on grants and public donations. While shelters are now largely funded at the provincial level, municipalities have still been absorbing the impacts of rising homelessness in their own ways. This includes the increase in visible homelessness in rural communities.

In 2024, during the height of encampments in Halifax Regional Municipality, council approved $750,000, matched by the province, to renovate an additional drop-in centre in response to the growing number of people living in encampments. The need was so great that the city also drew $1.8 million from its reserves to prepare additional sites, hire staff to support these locations, and provide supervision and management to mitigate potential harms. On top of this, the municipality reported providing $150,000 per year in what it referred to as “humanitarian aid” for those sleeping rough. Halifax has also reported approximately $33,000 for the clean-up and remediation of three encampment sites, though staff have noted that these costs can easily exceed $100,000 per site.

Now let’s move to Moncton, where we see Housing First outcomes clearly reflected in the data.

First, what pushed Moncton in this direction? The City of Moncton reported that its by-law enforcement budget climbed from $1.3 million in 2019 to $2.6 million in 2024. This five-year period coincided with the largest increase in visible homelessness in recorded history. During this time, community officers saw significant increases in calls related to social issues, encampments, discarded needles, and clean-ups. While homelessness response has not traditionally fallen within municipal jurisdiction, these realities forced municipalities to spend valuable dollars addressing the impacts. New Glasgow has communicated experiencing this same pressure. While the need is very real, the experience is not unique. In much larger communities like Toronto or Vancouver, these numbers are exponentially higher.

So, what did Moncton do?

The Housing First study, called At Home/Chez Soi, conducted there involved 201 participants. One hundred received Housing First supports, while 101 continued receiving the level of supports they already had. The report refers to this second group as Treatment as Usual. Most participants were recruited from shelters or directly from the street. Fifty-six percent were absolutely homeless, meaning they had no place to stay other than shelters or a tent, and 44 percent were precariously housed. More than 60 percent were living with mental health and substance use challenges.

A quick sidebar here. Precariously Housed: Not all people experiencing homelessness are living in shelters or tents. The majority are considered precariously housed. This can include staying with family or friends, couch surfing, or squatting in vacant properties. While these situations may offer a sense of temporary safety, they are not long-term solutions.

Back to Moncton and the outcomes.

Over approximately two years, from the start of the study through follow-up, 80 percent of participants in the Housing First group remained successfully housed. The cost findings are where things become particularly compelling. For every $10 invested in Housing First, $7.75 was saved in related services such as justice, hospital care, and crisis response. To me, that is a staggering result.

To illustrate this another way, imagine a leaky bucket. The holes represent ambulance trips, emergency room visits, police calls, and crisis responses. Money keeps being poured in, but it keeps leaking out. That is homelessness without Housing First. Roughly $20,000 per person per year is spent in this leaky bucket. When Housing First is applied, every $10 spent patching those holes stops $7.75 worth of leaks. You are still spending a net $2.25, but the bucket holds more water. The system becomes calmer, less stressed, and costs stop spiraling unpredictably.

The answer is not simply opening more shelter beds unless that is done alongside a real increase in housing options. The answer is also not relocating shelters when the money required for such undertakings could be directed toward long-term solutions that deliver results faster. Instead of forming committees to search for new locations, if we stood together to create more housing units, repurpose existing buildings into residential spaces, and truly focus our energy on housing and supporting the unhoused, we would see quicker and more lasting results.

The proof is in the pudding. It is time we sit down and actually eat some pudding.

Let’s Talk About Moving Viola’s Place Shelter

There has been a lot of discussion recently about moving Viola’s Place Shelter. The suggestion came up multiple times during the October 1 Community Safety meeting, and Councillor Jim McKenna has shared that he hears about it frequently from Ward 1 constituents. I have also learned that a community petition related to the shelter is gaining traction.

So, let’s talk about what moving the shelter actually means.

A Brief History

Before Viola’s Place Society existed, the Life Shelter operated out of the basement of Calvary Temple. It was a small overnight emergency shelter that closed during the day. The church eventually closed it's doors, which meant so too did the emergency shelter. In 2018 a group of concerned community members recognized how essential that shelter was. They came together, raised funds from local donors, purchased the church, and incorporated a new organization to continue operating the shelter. This is how Viola’s Place Society was formed.

In its early years, the number of people using the shelter was manageable given the size of the space. For the first several years, the entire operation was run by volunteers. Some of those individuals are still involved today and carry a deep institutional memory and wealth of experience.

At that time, the shelter was small and relatively quiet. It operated from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., during hours when most people in the community were winding down for the night. Because of this, its presence often went unnoticed.

What Changed

By 2020, the world had changed. The pandemic brought lockdowns, job insecurity, isolation, and a sharp rise in anxiety. Mental health challenges increased. Substance use increased. All of this landed on systems that were already stretched thin. Homelessness had been rising steadily throughout the 2010s due to a growing housing shortage. The pandemic accelerated this dramatically. Shelters across the country saw a surge in demand, particularly from people with higher levels of need. In homelessness work, “higher acuity” refers to individuals with severe, complex, and often overlapping health and social challenges. These are people who require intensive, ongoing, and specialized support to achieve and maintain housing stability.

Simply put, the situation became far more complex after 2020.

By 2025, rural communities across Canada are experiencing what large urban centres have faced for decades. Not just homelessness, but homelessness combined with trauma, mental illness, and untreated health conditions. I think of a man I once worked with who had been sexually abused by his mother. He was gentle and kind, but lived with constant internal torment. He was not violent, yet when he became emotionally overwhelmed, he could appear frightening. These moments were not within his control. You could see the pain on his face as he cried openly, overwhelmed by suffering.

I also think of another man who shared his music with me online. He was an incredibly talented musician with a strong voice, a compelling presence, and real stories of touring with bands. He also grew up in the foster care system, where he experienced physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. His trauma followed him into adulthood. He used opiates to numb the pain, not to live a glamorous lifestyle, but to survive memories that never left him. Despite immense talent, those experiences kept him from the success he might otherwise have had.

These stories are not unique. They are timeless, nameless, and repeated endlessly across shelters everywhere. This is how we moved from a small emergency shelter that was rarely full to a facility that has nearly tripled its number of beds and fills every night. The need is real.

The Realities of Moving a Shelter

Moving a shelter is not simply a matter of choosing a new address. Based on research into shelters of similar size that have relocated, there are several major components involved.

1. Physical Move

This is the most straightforward piece. The cost to physically move furniture, equipment, and supplies is estimated between $10,000 and $30,000.

2. New Site Setup Costs

This is where the most significant costs arise. A shelter cannot simply move into a building and open its doors. Any new site must meet health, safety, accessibility, and operational standards.

Based on three Atlantic Canadian shelters that converted existing buildings, setup and renovation costs can range from $180,000 to $750,000. These costs reflect fire code upgrades, security systems, IT infrastructure, accessibility modifications, commercial kitchen requirements, HVAC upgrades, office space, and more. Unless a building was originally designed as a shelter, extensive renovations are almost always required.

3. Operating Costs During the Move

There are also costs associated with maintaining services during the transition. This can include temporary shelter space, staff wages during a shutdown, or overtime during the move itself. A critical question must also be asked: where do people go if the shelter closes, even temporarily?

Estimated costs for this phase range from $30,000 to $80,000.

4. Municipal Considerations

Zoning, inspections, accessibility certification, and code compliance all carry costs. If the municipality is supportive of a move, these expenses may be lower, but they are still real. Research suggests a range of $10,000 to $50,000. Even assuming a best-case scenario, $15,000 is a reasonable estimate.

5. Total Estimated Cost

Even under optimistic conditions, the total cost of relocating a shelter is likely between $250,000 and $1 million. That assumes no major complications and a significant amount of alignment across systems.

Location Is Not a Simple Question

Cost alone does not make a move possible. A suitable location must exist.

So far, few concrete suggestions have been offered. One idea raised was repurposing the Glen Haven building. I am not familiar with its structural condition, but the location and size are promising. Another potential option is a large space owned by NG Town Works near the movie theatre. It is away from residential neighbourhoods and close to essential services, including Mental Health and Addictions. Even so, substantial renovations would still be required to make it suitable for shelter operations.

Finding a building is only part of the challenge. Finding a neighbourhood that will accept a shelter is often the hardest part.

NIMBY, or “Not In My Backyard,” is a very real experience in this work. While I encountered the term YIMBY, meaning “Yes, In My Backyard,” during my research, I have yet to hear it spoken aloud in real life.

The Emergency Shelter Reality

In conversations with the Mayor and members of Town Council, one important point of agreement emerged. If Viola’s Place functioned strictly as an emergency shelter, as originally intended, its location would likely be far less controversial. Emergency shelters are designed for short stays during crisis situations, with the expectation that people can move quickly into more appropriate housing. The problem is that those housing options do not currently exist. As a result, stays are longer and needs become more complex. This was not the outcome Viola’s Place Society wanted. The organization would have preferred to remain a short-term emergency shelter. However, the reality of the housing system left no other choice.

Moving a shelter is neither simple nor inexpensive. It also does not address the underlying issue of insufficient housing and supports.

What I have not addressed here are the specific location characteristics that best support both shelter residents and the broader community. If there is interest, I would be happy to explore that in a second part.

--Dwayne Wright

Hello Pictou County,

My name is Dwayne Wright, and I am the Board Chair of Viola’s Place Society. Like many of you, I am deeply concerned by the rapid rise in homelessness and addiction in our province. These challenges affect all of us, and the frustration growing in a lot of smaller communities, including New Glasgow, is real. I feel it too.

Before I respond to recent public comments, I want to briefly explain why I speak with confidence about this work, not because others’ opinions don’t matter, but because context helps.

In the early 2000s, while working in a bookstore focused on Buddhist philosophy, I learned about the Bodhisattva—someone who reaches the threshold of personal liberation but chooses to remain in a world of suffering to help others rise. I know it might be a difficult name to pronounce, but the main point of this story is the ‘choice to stay and help those who need it.” That idea profoundly shaped me.

A few years later I retrained, graduated with an addictions counselling diploma, and began working frontline in Halifax’s largest men’s shelter at the time. We served up to 80 men nightly with only three staff. It was difficult, heartbreaking and heartwarming work. It also taught me the realities of homelessness and addiction better than any textbook could. I spent nine years on that frontline. I experienced burnout. I experienced my first death threat. I also witnessed profound moments of human change that I will never forget.

My roots are here. I grew up in New Glasgow, went to school here, and returned to Pictou County with my wife and daughter in 2020. Not long after, I joined the Board at Viola’s Place. After decades in this field, I know the sector. I know what good homelessness work looks like, what best practices require, and what happens when communities come together—or fall apart.

Addressing Recent Misunderstandings

There is a narrative circulating—reflected in the Town of New Glasgow’s “What We Heard” report—that shelters like ours operate with “compassion without boundaries” that supposedly “enable” unhealthy behaviours.

Let me be clear:
Viola’s Place does not operate without boundaries.
We operate with structure, policies and rules.
We are funded by Opportunities and Social Development (OSD), they monitor our operations and we provide them with regular reports. We are also receiving support from other provincial departments like Mental Health and Addictions as reported here. This tells me that we are on the right path.

Even so, because concerns were raised, we proactively requested a full policy review from a third party consulting firm, a national leader in homelessness best practices. We look forward to their recommendations so we can strengthen our work even further.

Community Hostility and Misplaced Anger

In recent months, hostility toward Viola’s Place has reached levels that are difficult to understand. Staff and clients have been yelled at, harassed, even egged. It forces me to ask: What did Viola’s Place staff and clients do to deserve this anger?

I keep returning to the same answer: people are afraid and frustrated, and their anger is being misdirected. If I believed otherwise, it would shake my faith in the community I grew up in. I choose to believe in the Bodhisattva—not the alternative.

We are not the cause of this crisis.
We are part of the response.

Clarifying Recent Media Statements

An article published by 98.9 XFM on November 18 quoted Councillor Joe MacDonald saying he plans to bring forward a motion to remove Viola’s Place’s municipal tax-exempt status due to “poor communication” since the October meeting.

After the Town released its “What We Heard” report, Viola’s Place responded publicly with “What We Want You to Know,” including detailed data about homelessness in our community. Councillor MacDonald has publicly questioned the validity of our numbers before—most recently during our August 2024 presentation to Council. It was disrespectful then, and it remains disappointing now. The facts may not align with the narrative some prefer, but they remain facts. To date Councillor MacDonald has not provided any proof verifying his assumption that our stats are incorrect.

Our Operations Are Structured and Accountable

Recently, you may have seen a release from NG Police Department about a staff member being assaulted on-site, . This person was well supported and returned to work the next day. The individual responsible was immediately barred from service, following our clear policies.

Access to the shelter is a privilege with conditions. It is not anarchy. We enforce rules, including discharging and/or barring individuals whose behaviour threatens staff or clients. Unfortunately, when someone loses access, they do end up in the community—and the shelter is often blamed for that as well. This is the tragic reality of a system strained beyond capacity, not the result of poor practices.

Working in human services carries risk. I’ve lived that reality. However, in my 9 years working frontline in Halifax, I felt a sense of respect from the folks I served. I felt a sense of protection and care. I had the privilege of witnessing people transform from surviving to thriving. My last 4 years frontline were spent in Housing Support. I was able to house between 400-500 people, but this was just as the housing crisis was beginning to rise. It is exponentially harder to find folks housing now.

On the Relationship With the Town

Mayor Nancy Dicks recently stated that Council had “tried” to build a relationship with Viola’s Board, but that it did not turn out as hoped. From our perspective, we were having productive conversations about how we might best collaborate. The meetings occurred every 2-3 months and were comprised of the mayor, CAO, a rotating mix of councillors, and a representative from NG PD. These meetings highlighted a productive start to building this relationship and attempt to remove the silo’s we were working in.   Our last meeting was in July where Council requested that meetings pause pending the results of the Homelessness Strategy that is underway. We respected that request. Yet the narrative now suggests we were disengaged. We were not. That said, Viola's Place Society shares the mayors feelings about how our relationship turned out. The door is not closed in these conversations. In fact, we are meeting next week for further discussions. 

The Broader Truth

Viola’s Place is not just a shelter for the unhoused. Within a year, we distributed over $150,000 of OSD funds to housed members of this community who were facing eviction, choosing between medication and mortgages, or falling through cracks during a cost-of-living crisis. Our Trustee program is also assisting individuals with financial literacy and practical financial management skills. This program also assists community residents in creating budgets and managing their finances until they are in a place to manage on their own. This includes paying utilities and rent on behalf of the client.

Without that support, many of those neighbours—your neighbours—would now be homeless. These folks are sons, daughters, sisters, brothers and parents. They didn't dream of this as their reality. 

We are not the cause of this crisis.
We are part of the response.

Our Commitment to the Community

We acknowledge that we have not always communicated our work as effectively as we should have. The pace and intensity of crisis work can cause us to focus inward. That is not an excuse—it is something we are actively fixing. You will see more transparency, more updates, and more opportunities to understand how we operate. 

But we cannot do this alone.
We need a community that is informed, compassionate, and united.
We need volunteers, donations, and partnership.
And we need people to ask questions before passing judgment.

If you want to understand what we do, why we do it, or how decisions are made, there is a “Contact Us” section on our website. We will respond as soon as we are able. All we ask is that the dialogue be respectful.

A Path Forward

I remain optimistic. I believe in this community. I believe in humanity. And I believe that together we can restore a sense of safety and hope in New Glasgow—where everyone has a roof over their head, food on the table, and a warm bed at night.

But it will only happen if we walk this road together.

— Dwayne Wright

Similar to how a hospital emergency department accepts individuals experiencing a health crisis without requiring pre-approval, our shelter operates on the same principle. People arrive in moments of crisis, and just as hospitals do not conduct criminal history checks to determine whether someone “deserves” essential medical care, we do not withhold essential services like shelter or food, based on criminal history.

Shelter beds are available for adults aged 25 and older on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals who call ahead are advised that intakes occur nightly at 7:00 p.m., and beds are offered on a first come first serve basis.

Once admitted, clients also have access to a range of in-house services, including counselling, medical care, mental health and addictions support, and the opportunity to work with a caseworker to support their individual goals to move on.

We do not pay for transportation to the shelter or pre-arrange admissions. Nor do we arrange warm transfers from other shelters, police, or hospitals. Admission is based on personal choice—adults arrive on their own when they find themselves in crisis. 

During our intake process we complete safety procedures which includes pocket checks, metal detector scanning, and personal belongings are locked up. We also have heavy surveillance and additional safety measures in place. 

Respecting confidentiality, I can assure you that Viola’s Place does not participate in bringing individuals into the community. Adults have the right to make their own choices, and as a charity, we have no authority over who decides to enter the community. 

Despite systematic barriers, our charity does great work in moving people along into safer and healthier environments for all.  We feel saddened by the justice system and systemic failures that lead communities to these types of situations. 

We intend to address any additional concerns during the October 1st meeting, where we can engage in a more structured and constructive discussion. The complexity of the situation makes it difficult to address effectively through email correspondence.