Homelessness and affordable and safe housing were identified by The Public Good Society of Dartmouth (TPGSD) board as areas for involvement. TPGSD hosted two workshops related to housing as well as receiving feedback on housing from the Connections that Work Outreach Facilitator. In addition, the housing issue was a subject of discussion at many board meetings and also at several special meetings. The challenge was to identify an appropriate role for TPGSD in an arena that is complex and already has many organizations involved. The purpose of this report was to provide an overview of the situation with a special focus on the Society’s geographical area of  interest.

The report includes a statistical review that shows Dartmouth Centre to have
a number of challenges that distinguish it from other parts of Dartmouth and more
so compared to the overall Halifax situation. There are more people living alone,
especially seniors, and there are more single parent families existing on low
incomes. In fact, incomes for all categories are lower than the earnings of those in
HRM. There is a large part of the population not even in the work force. With a
high rate of rental units, the population is more mobile.  The recent 2016 Census data shows that these demographic differences continue in Dartmouth North.

The above is adapted from the Executive Summary of TPGSD Housing that Works Discussion Paper.  Until recently, Dennis was a member of the board of  TPGSD and in that role was the lead for housing issues for the board.  This paper and the related work resulted in the opening of Dartmouth Housing Help. The Society also has two other complementary programs – Connections that Work and the Dartmouth North Community Van.