With the recent bout of scorching temperatures hitting the Maritimes, it’s raised questions about what options are available for those most vulnerable in the community.
Parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick broke temperature records last week, during a heat wave that saw temperatures hitting the low to mid-30s.
“We saw more records set in both areas again — on southern New Brunswick and in southern Nova Scotia on Friday before we started to see some drastic change in the temperature and the humidity on the weekend,” said Ian Hubbard, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
For Beacon House, which offers housing support and shelters, the heat wave posed unique challenges.
“The bigger challenge I suggest is feeding that many people in the evening after a hot day,” said Jim Gunn, board chair with Beacon House.
The shelter partially operates in a church that doesn’t have air conditioning, so Gunn says people don’t always seek them out to escape the heat.
“We don’t think people are coming our way because the reputation of our church may be out there. It’s just not a good place to come in the heat,” he said.
Despite the reputation, Gunn isn’t overly concerned, noting the organization works hard to support the 51 people who come for support.
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He adds that there are several other options to cool down on the peninsula, particularly the public libraries.
“We know that people who trust us and see us as a safe space do come here for that reason,” said Sheena Jamieson, Halifax Public Libraries’ community navigator.
“So we really work to be accessible to everybody and accessible to people who really do need, who really don’t have another place to go.”
Jamieson adds that the summer and warmer temperatures do encourage more people to visit the library and access their resources.
“No one should feel bad for coming into the library to just take a moment for themselves,” she said.
In a statement, Halifax Regional Municipality said its Housing and Homelessness team was out connecting with people who were sleeping rough last week. The municipality said the team helped people get supplies they needed to keep cool and hydrated.
As well, the municipality said it confirmed that space is currently available in provincially-funded shelters.
As for what the rest of the summer holds, more heat records are expected to be broken.
“Certainly this time of year, not unexpected for the temperatures we see. And probably some more daily temperature records as well before it’s all said and done,” said Hubbard.
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