27-05-2025
Dartmouth, N.S., shelter resident voices concerns over security
A person who lives at The Bridge shelter in Dartmouth, N.S., shares their experience.
A person who lives at The Bridge shelter in Dartmouth, N.S., shares their experience.
Inside look at hotel-turned-shelter in Dartmouth, NS
For 175 people, the Bridge – a hotel turned shelter in Dartmouth, N.S. – is the only thing keeping them off the streets.
'I'm homeless, but I'm thankful to be living in a place where they provide food and security,' says shelter resident Shannan Armstrong.
That security, however, is tested at times.
'There's a lot of issues, you know, a lot of fighting, a lot of miscommunication. There's a lot of staff and even though they try hard, they can't always prevent things from happening,' Armstrong says. 'There's a lot of drugs throughout and people are just not well mentally.'
Some of that behaviour spills out onto the streets and nearby businesses.
Armstrong has been at the shelter for a year due to a lack of affordable housing. She has a job but still can't afford to move.
'I have my own room and I'm so thankful for it,' she says.
Jordan O'Toole, who has been living at the Green Road tent encampment since last July, would like to move into the Bridge.
'I would just love to be anywhere that I could call my home that has four actual walls and the door that I can lock because it has been hell,' O'Toole says.
Jordan O'Toole
Jordan O'Toole is hoping to get into the Bridge shelter. (Source: Jonathan MacInnis/CTV News Atlantic)
The Nova Scotia government recently signed a five-year lease to keep the Bridge open until 2030 at a cost of nearly $24 million.
The hope is that by that time there will be more affordable housing options available and encampments will no longer be needed.
'I want somewhere to call home, anywhere is better than a tent,' O'Toole says.
Of the 400 people who have lived at the Bridge since its opening in 2023, 107 have moved on to more permanent housing.
The Bridge
The Bridge shelter has been operational since 2023. (Source: Jonathan MacInnis/CTV News Atlantic)
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