On the evening of October 14, 51 volunteers from community organizations and partner agencies took part in the 2026 Point-in-Time (PiT) Count across Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), documenting the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night. The annual count provides a snapshot of homelessness in HRM and helps inform the development of programs, services and policies aimed at preventing, reducing, and ultimately ending homelessness. The count includes bo

Homelessness in Halifax Regional Municipality is placing growing pressure on individuals, communities and public systems. Our new study examines the costs of current responses to homelessness and finds that investing in supportive and deeply affordable housing can provide better outcomes while reducing pressure on emergency, healthcare, and justice systems. The report, Costs of Homelessness in HRM: Benefits of Supportive Housing, draws on local service provider data, stakehol

HALIFAX, NS – May 28, 2025 The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia (AHANS) and its partners today released the EVERYONE COUNTS IN HRM 2024 Point-in-Time (PiT) Count Report. Conducted on November 25, 2024, as part of a cross-country effort to measure homelessness in centers across Canada, this vital count engaged 95 staff from 23 agencies, providing a critical snapshot to guide efforts addressing homelessness in HRM. The Count identified a minimum of 1,132 individual

Now available, this report summarizes the use of emergency homeless shelters in Halifax. The first section contains an overview of the shelter system, size of the shelter using population and the demographic characteristics of shelter users. The second section examines patterns of shelter use, chronic and episodic homelessness and a discussion of inflow/outflow.