N.S. reform of care of people with disabilities behind in housing ‘complex’ cases

HALIFAX — There’s been a surge in the number of Nova Scotians with complex disabilities stuck in temporary housing, according to recent figures released by the province.

This rise in what are called “temporary shelter arrangements,” or TSAs, operated by for-profit and non-profit agencies has occurred despite a plan by the province to decrease their use over the past two years.

The Department of Social Development describes the temporary housing as being needed whenever a person with a complex disability is in urgent need of housing, and options for a permanent home have been “explored and exhausted.” Usually, the person is placed in an apartment, with one-on-one care, but without a long-term plan to improve their lives.

“The infrastructure to shift away from the temporary model is slow. It’s not happening as quickly as anticipated,” said Harman Singh, CEO of Breton Ability Centre — a non-profit agency in Sydney, N.S. that houses people with disabilities, which has been asked to oversee eight people in temporary shelters.

The province introduced a sweeping, five-year reform plan for the care and housing of people with disabilities in 2023. It was the result of a landmark court decision that found there was systemic discrimination against people with disabilities.

The plan called for a sharp decrease in the number of people with disabilities in temporary housing arrangements by 2025 but the opposite has occurred.

The recent government update on the plan, referred to as “The Remedy,” indicated there were 89 people in the temporary arrangements in early 2024, but as of April 1 this year, there was a 49 per cent increase to 146 people. This contrasts with the plan’s target of reducing the number of people in temporary housing by 40.

Singh said Breton Ability is gradually closing down its larger facility with 68 residents but has been asked to increase temporary shelter arrangements. Some of the arrangements are lasting for years, she added.

The lack of permanent solutions isn’t working well, as it makes it difficult to attract staff or to spend money needed to ensure the housing arrangements are suitable, she said.

For example, Singh said in one case her agency has been housing a person in a temporary apartment since 2021, but it has been unable to invest in much-needed upgrades due to uncertainty about whether they are expected to stay there permanently.

If the arrangement were permanent, “we could look at long-term renovations to the house, seek grants from different departments and we would look to raise funds to make the backyard more suitable … we would look at all these different factors and make it better,” said Singh.

Data released to The Canadian Press through the Freedom of Information Act from January 2024 to last month show the majority of temporary shelter arrangements were provided by five private-sector agencies for 94 people. They received $34 million in 2024, and $20 million for half of 2025, according to the documents. Some people in TSAs cost about $150,000 to up to about $500,000 annually, the records say.

However, a separate freedom of information response from the Department of Social Development to The Canadian Press for the same period says there were no records of “audits or reports on safety and quality of care” done on these private agencies. They also said they wouldn’t provide estimates of how long people are remaining in the TSAs.

In its recent annual report on the plan, the province said it wasn’t meeting deadlines for decreasing the numbers because there had been delays in hiring and training staff to oversee the conversion of the system.

The department said in an email Friday that so far 24 of the 146 people in the temporary shelter arrangements — about 16 per cent of the total — have been assigned staff to plan their future care and placements in the community.

Maria Medioli, director of the provincial disability support program, said in an interview Thursday that the five-year plan — which has committed over $200 million in spending over the first two years — is the first major effort to deal with the TSA issue.

Medioli said some of the growth in TSA numbers has been the result of people with “deeply complex issues” being discharged by a care home or a hospital without any destination, and the alternative is homelessness.

Asked about oversight of service providers, Medioli said the department receives financial statements from the private-sector service providers but doesn’t “generally audit providers unless there is a reason.” She added there has been one complaint of financial irregularities by a private-sector provider that is being investigated, but no complaints of safety or quality problems.

“I don’t like them (TSAs). They are temporary. … It was done in an emergency and we didn’t have the infrastructure to make it anything but temporary. Through the (plan) we’re building that infrastructure,” she said.

However, Kim Long, vice chair of the Disability Rights Coalition, said in an interview Thursday that her group is concerned by the growing numbers.

“I’d like to know where (the government) is in the process of establishing a baseline of health and safety. … The thing that we’re most concerned about is what is that experience (of living in a temporary shelter arrangement) like?”

Long said her advocacy organization wants to hear directly from families and people in temporary shelter arrangements, to learn how the arrangements work and “what they are experiencing.”

“We need to hear in order to get the full story behind the numbers,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press