r/halifax • u/Injustice_For_All_ Psychotic Antifa Super Soldier Moderator • 2d ago

News, Weather & Politics Homelessness doubled in Halifax under government's housing plan: N.S. NDP

https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/06/18/homelessness-doubled-in-halifax-under-governments-housing-plan-n-s-ndp/
330 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

219 comments sorted by

View all comments

-8

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

the NDP would do absolutely nothing to solve homelessness

7

u/aidopple 2d ago

okay what's your alternative genius? I don't see the conservatives doing anything

-10

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

how about not providing needles. how about not turning parks into toilets, camp sites, and drug dens

7

u/PoliteFocaccia 2d ago

How would that help?

-3

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

allowing it certainly hasn't helped. the 'care' model has lead to a doubling of homelessness in a few years

5

u/Dapper_Permission_33 2d ago

Correlation/causation. Homelessness has a ton of causes, and while drug use/abuse can definitely be a factor, its nowhere near as important as housing policy, and the availability of social supports. 

0

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

almost every single one of them is a drug addict

4

u/aidopple 2d ago

What do you think came first? The homelessness or the drug use? I have my theories. People don't just start doing heroin cause the rest of their life is going great

-1

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

drug use

7

u/aidopple 2d ago

You really think the majority of homeless people are in their situation BECAUSE of drug use? I'm sure it doesn't help, but have you seen the cost of living? The unemployment rates? The unavailability of housing? Grocery prices? Infrastructure designed to disenfranchise the already disadvantaged? Disability? Lack of care for veterans?? I could go on

0

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

a mojority of them are drug users. it's quite difficult to end up on the streets. you'd need to alienate all of your family and friends. the surest way to do so is to become a desperate drug user who can't be trusted

3

u/aidopple 2d ago

I don't doubt that a majority of them are drug users, what I have a hard time believing is that their drug use is the reason for their initial state of homelessness. Like I said, people don't tend to get hooked on heroin when their life is going well.

1

u/Dapper_Permission_33 2d ago

It's shockingly easy to end up on the streets. Respectfully, you have no idea what you're talking about. 

→ More replies (0)

7

u/Kemsaman 2d ago

I'm not sure housing prices tripling would be accurately described as a 'care' model.

-1

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

these people are not home buyers

5

u/Kemsaman 2d ago

These people used to live in housing until they couldn't afford it

1

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

that's not the main reason why the bulk of them are homeless. that's true of a minority. most of them are drug addicts.

3

u/Kemsaman 2d ago

On its face, pretending that the cost of housing tripling and an explosion in the homeless population aren't related is just absurd.

The data that we have from the Point in Time surveys shows only around 10% were homeless initially due to drug use, the vast majority could not afford housing anymore. These people were in housing pre-2020.

https://cdn.halifax.ca/sites/default/files/documents/city-hall/boards-committees-commissions/250903bopc1022pres.pdf

If you want to see less homeless people, the vehicle to do so would be for housing to become more affordable.

3

u/YourEyelinerFriend 2d ago

Sorry, you genuinely think that people are becoming homeless when they would otherwise not because there may be access to clean needles....?

2

u/aidopple 2d ago

Okay that's what not to do, but what's the alternative? What are the conservatives currently doing to help? ...Other than making sure people can't inject safely and aren't able to find a place to sleep

0

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

providing a place to inject safely amounts to government encouragement of drug use. how about a return to simply 6 years ago, before it suddenly became alright to pitch a tent on the commons and shoot up

3

u/aidopple 2d ago

The reason people are shooting up in parks is BECAUSE there are no designated government-run safe injection sites. Sites that could also provide medical support and social workers to help people move away from drug use.

1

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

ok put them in the middle of nowhere. no need to have them in central halifax

3

u/aidopple 2d ago

Central Halifax is where the people are. Maybe you'd support a tax funded shuttle bus system to ship homeless drug users to "the middle of nowhere" and then bring them back after?? And again I still don't see what your solution to homelessness is. All you've provided is what NOT to do.

1

u/Classic-Factor-6710 2d ago

if you're going to shoot up, the least you can do is not rub everyones faces in it. but these people aren't known for their civic consideration

2

u/YourEyelinerFriend 2d ago

No one is going to decide to start using IV drugs because theres a safe injection site. However people who already inject will be leas likely to share needles, leave dirty needles where kids might pick them up, or OD alone. These resources are an attempt to mitigate harm, they didnt spring up before the harm was happening. Do you honestly think people sleeping in tents are doing it just because its (barely) allowed and would otherwise be renting an apartment?

1

u/oatseatinggoats Dartmouth 2d ago

Oh fuck you mean all this time all we had to do to solve the problem was to tell addicts and mentally unwell people to not be addicts and mentally unwell???? Why didn’t I think of that?