The Dartmouth, N.S. hotel-turned-homeless shelter known as ‘The Bridge’ has been operating for several months now. It is the largest facility of its kind in the province.
However, a staffing shortage on the designated health floor means some rooms remain empty.
“There are currently seven clients living on the health floor, and the challenge right now is finalizing the staffing,” explained Nova Scotia Health (NSH) Community Transitions director Wendy McVeigh.
According to NSH, there is currently one client support worker (CSW) on the health floor working alongside continuing care assistants (CCA).
Five CSWs are required for the floor to operate fully, meaning 21 out of the 28 rooms are currently unoccupied.
“Empty rooms while people are freezing, I don’t understand this,” said Richard Young.
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Young has been living in a tent at Grand Parade in front of City Hall and experiences rough living conditions on a daily basis.
The thought of empty rooms that could provide shelter doesn’t make sense to Young.
“It was minus four the other night, and some people didn’t have sleeping bags,” Young recalled. “We don’t have heaters, we have summer tents, so it’s just like putting a thin sheet over you — you’re freezing.”
While space may exist on the health floor, Nova Scotia’s Department of Community Services (DCS) says The Bridge is typically at 95-100% capacity.
There are 152 rooms available for clients, not including the health floor, but the number of clients served may be higher as some people share rooms with partners or siblings.
Even though NSH is working on staffing to fill the floor, medical staff at The Bridge have been serving the entire building rather than just the designated floor.
“The early stage of this was the need for a health floor, but as we’re evolving, it’s not just a health floor because health services go wherever the person is,” said McVeigh.
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According to DCS spokesperson Joy Knight, it’s about coordinating wraparound services for clients, including health, housing, and social supports.
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“We now have health services throughout the building, with the health clinic operational seven days a week on site,” said Knight.
“I think it’s already showing evidence that integrating health and homelessness services together has a positive impact on people.”
Upwards of 200 people who have lived in The Bridge have used the facility’s health clinic since it opened, averaging 80 visits per week.
“If there’s a change in a person’s health, help is there providing resources and support,” said McVeigh. “The last stage of this is to open the remaining 21 rooms on the health floor.”
A plan is in place to start increasing staff on the health floor by next month, but some rooms will remain unoccupied in case hospital patients need to be transferred, according to Nova Scotia Health.
McVeigh says that on any given day, there are multiple homeless community members that NSH identifies as people who would benefit from intake on the health floor at The Bridge, if staffing allowed for it.
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