Group of Lower Sackville neighbours offer lifeline to those living in homeless encampment

For the people living in tents on a baseball field in Lower Sackville, N.S., a group of strangers has become a lifeline.

Close to 40 tents are clustered around the field on Cobequid Road, providing shelter for people who have nowhere else to go. Some were recently evicted, some have been living in their vehicles for months and some have been on the streets for years. 

And as Halifax's homeless population climbs beyond 1,000, members of the newly formed Gated Community Association say they couldn't stand by and watch people sleep outside with few supports.

"It's awful to see people were living in this situation, obviously," said Sarah Veinotte, one of the members of the group. 

"But personally, I found it really rewarding to get to know these people and to see them as human beings and to help them to feel a little bit more dignified."

The group started as a Facebook page in September, where people could offer support and resources for those living in the encampment. The page now has more than 5,000 followers.

The group has also become a registered non-profit organization with a six-person executive team.

Volunteers organize nightly hot meals, wash clothes, collect donations and buy necessities like heaters and propane, search for available housing, and help people navigate the health-care system — sometimes even sitting with them in the emergency department for hours. 

The group's president Nikki Greer said none of the executive members knew each other before they banded together — they all just felt a moral obligation. 

"When you see the tremendous need that is taking place here, you can't walk away and not think about it," Greer said. "You can't not initiate change."

Many of the usual supports like women's shelters, homeless shelters and treatment centres are stretched beyond capacity. 

Judy Joudrey, 74, had been staying in a tent at the ball field with her two dogs for close to three months. She had a budget of more than $1,500 monthly, but she couldn't find an apartment. 

"We called all around for other shelters, but there was none vacant, so they gave me a tent and an air mattress," she said. "And that's what I came with."

The members of the non-profit found Joudrey an apartment to rent, and helped her move in the first week of November.