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CMHA Nova Scotia Division

Project H.O.P.E.

** Project H.O.P.E serves people living in Kings, Annapolis and Digby Counties with Housing Support and Trustee Services.  We also serve Truro and area with Trustee Services. Self and/or agency referrals are welcome! PLEASE NOTE: Our team is not an emergency service and does not provide housing units.**

Are you homeless or at risk of being homeless?  Find out if Project H.O.P.E is right for you. 

About Project H.O.P.E: Housing is a basic human right, need and a requirement for good mental and physical health. Project H.O.P.E [Housing Outreach and Peer Empowerment] works with Nova Scotians who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to locate and secure safe, sustainable, affordable housing. Project H.O.P.E is designed to assist those who face barriers beyond the current lack of housing, to locate, secure and maintain safe, appropriate, sustainable and affordable housing.

This program provides:

  • Safe affordable access to housing
  • Community based private market housing
  • Search for affordable housing
  • Landlord/tenant resolution and tenancy support
  • Supports to maintain housing in the community

How we support: Our team approaches each person with a vision to assess the housing need, create a plan together regarding their unique housing goal.

Housing Supports and Case Management:

  • Assessment of need and creation of ‘Action Plan.’
  • Assist with locating and securing appropriate housing.
  • Assistance accessing all appropriate and available community and government supports.
  • Assistance with eviction prevention by helping navigate relationships with landlords, utilities, community agencies, and NS Tenancy Board.
  • Assistance with application for Canada Nova Scotia Targeted Housing Benefit (CNSTHB) when applicable.
  • Assistance with applications to landlords and Housing Authorities.

Trustee Services:

  • Assist clients who struggle to pay their bills in full and on time, or who have lost their housing because of late payment in the past. There is no cost for this service. This is done in partnership with Income Assistance (Dept. of Community Services).
  • Assistance creating a budget that works with the client’s income.
  • Assistance with applications to landlords and Housing Authorities

Who we support: Find out if Project H.O.P.E is right for you.

Project HOPE provides support based on individual needs.If you are a part of one of the below groups, and/or face one of the situations below, then Project H.O.P.E could be the right fit for you. 

  • Has a Mental Health Issue
  • Has a Disability
  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Community
  • Indigenous Peoples
  • People of African Descent
  • Has a History of Homelessness

** Project H.O.P.E is not able to assist with every situation. We do recognize there is a dire shortage of safe affordable housing in Nova Scotia and do our best to support or refer those who do not qualify for our support to the most appropriate resource.**

Our Team

The Project H.O.P.E. Team, left to right, Sarah Frizzell, Meagan McCann, Laurel Taylor, Hannah Scott, Holly Woodworth and Nick Haddock.

Project H.O.P.E. Criteria

Project HOPE works with people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and who have a barrier to locate and secure safe, affordable housing. We provide support based on individual need. If you are a part of one of the below groups, and/or face one of the situations below, then Project HOPE could be the right fit for you. 

Criteria:

  • Has a Mental Health Issue
  • Has a Disability
  • 2SLGBTQIA+ Community
  • Indigenous Peoples
  • People of Colour
  • Has a History of Homelessness

Project HOPE is not able to assist with every homelessness situation. We do recognize there is a dire shortage of safe affordable housing currently. However, our supports are designed to assist those who face additional barriers to finding and securing housing than the current lack of housing.

*** Please note – We do not provide housing units. **** 

Don’t Fit Project HOPE Criteria?

CMHA NS Division recognizes that there is a housing crisis, especially with the impact of Coivd-19, and wants to send everyone to the right resources for them. If you are homeless or at risk of being homeless and do not fit the above criteria the links below may be the right resources for you!

 

Mental Health & Housing: Adequate, suitable and affordable housing contributes to our physical and mental well-being. It leads to increased personal safety and helps decrease stress, leading to improved sleep and diet. All of these factors result in better mental health outcomes.

When housing is inadequate or unavailable, personal as well as community well-being can suffer. The high cost of rental accommodations has created a critical shortage of affordable housing and is a leading contributor to poverty in Nova Scotia.

In Nova Scotia, 11.4 per cent (45,100)  are in core housing need. This means that they cannot access affordable, suitable, adequate housing without spending at least 30 per cent of their total household income on housing.

In 2019, 12.1 per cent of Nova Scotians lived below the poverty line – the second highest rate in Canada. Accommodation is considered affordable if it requires less than 30 percent of a household’s total pre-tax income.

Affordable housing is an investment in health promotion and illness prevention.

  • Many people think the term “affordable housing” refers only to rental housing that is subsidized by the government. That is not the case. In reality, “affordable housing” can include housing provided by the private, public and non-profit sectors. 
  • Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs identifies shelter as one of the basic requirements of any human being – without it, a person cannot function optimally. Housing is a BASIC HUMAN NEED.
  • Approximately 18 per cent of public housing tenants are lone-parent families, and, of those, 93 per cent are female-led households. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic these numbers are predicted to have increased.

If you think we can help, please contact Laurel Taylor, Project H.O.P.E Provincial Lead at:

Email: laurel.taylor@novascotia.cmha.ca | Direct Line: 902.517.2420

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