ROSEMARY GODIN: Cape Breton Pallet Shelters are your tax dollars at work

“I see their lives changing drastically," reflects Executive Director of the Ally Centre, Christine Porter. Cape Breton Post, January 27, 2025

To quote Albert Einstein in a gender-neutral way: “Try not to become people of success, but rather try to become people of value.” The Cape Breton-based non-profit agencies of New Dawn Enterprises and the Ally Centre have over-achieved in both these areas of success and value with their innovative Pine Tree Village off Lingan Road in Sydney.

One year ago, New Dawn Enterprises explained the need for emergency Pallet housing: “The goals of this temporary/transitional housing are (1) to keep people alive through the winter months when the risk of death from exposure/weather is at its highest and (2) to identify suitable alternative affordable and supportive housing and work to transition Pallet Shelter residents into this housing.” (The word “Pallet” is the brand name of the company, not the material the pre-fabricated rooms are made with).

The two helping agencies are passionate about getting people out of the cold. Although temporary, the small, private rooms have been home for 35 previously under-housed residents since Oct. 21 last year. And just as you and I have a home that we can put our own stuff in, these dwellings bear the signs of happy, healthy living. Residents have warmth, food, an accepting community and programs to help them with their life goals. Their spaces are equipped with air conditioning, heaters, beds, desks and shelving. They are encouraged to decorate their rooms as they wish.

A recent trip to the site south of Sydney revealed a peaceful, quiet and clean little community of tiny dwellings collected in tidy rows. A larger building contains ten sparkling white washrooms, laundry room, staff offices and a comfortable open-concept common area with kitchen and seating areas grouped around a TV and a fireplace. It’s a warm and cozy environment, and I watch the face of a resident named Frankie light up with joy when I ask him if he likes his new place.

Rheanne and Frankie are two of 35 residents living and healing at Pine Tree Village off Lingan Rd. in Sydney. They like their small, private rooms and are able to socialize as a community in the Common Room in a building nearby that also contains a kitchen, laundry room, staff offices and washrooms. The Common Room they are chatting in above also contains a TV and a small electric fireplace. Photo by Greg Mcneil /contributed

 

‘SENSE OF PEACE’

Pine Tree Village manager, Shannon Dove tells me she will never forget the first days as people moved in.

“The smiles and sense of peace on their faces are something I will never forget,” she says.

Dove tells me everyone is pleased with the way people are settling in. She says residents are eager to find permanent housing in the future and with housing stability, are now learning new skills in order to move on in life.

Speaking at a Sydney River church earlier this month, Ally Centre Director Christine Porter said staff are seeing lives changing dramatically at Pine Tree Village. And considering the sudden drops in outdoor temperatures lately, not only are the new, warm surroundings life-changing – but also lifesaving.

Some people who may formerly have been living in tents or cars, are now safely embraced by warmth that comes to them both physically and emotionally. It’s a feeling of security that – for valid reasons – doesn’t come easily to them. While homelessness can be the result of addictions, it is more likely to have been caused by health problems and distressing life events.

“It’s unfortunate,” says Porter, “because with addiction comes all kinds of other very trying circumstances in people’s lives. We don’t ask ‘why the addiction’? We should never ask that. We ask: ‘why the pain?”

She says almost all people living with a substance abuse disorder have been through trauma.

But, Porter says, living in Pine Tree Village is making a difference.

“It is life-changing to see them on a daily basis,” she says. “Some are progressing really rapidly. They want to get back into the workforce. They want to do a lot of things with their lives and this is a push – that they can actually wake up warm and be fed and comfortable every day and move on in life.”

But she notes that some are still at a standstill because they’ve been on the streets so long that it’s a hard transition for them.

“When we see someone waking up and making their own breakfast, that’s a wonderful thing,” Porter says. “I see their lives changing drastically. These are small steps, but it’s a step forward.”

‘A SENSE OF NORMALCY’

Both Porter and Dove mention the same thing: the residents just want to feel a sense of normalcy in their day-to-day lives. Now, with reliable housing, that dream can be reality.

“When they first moved in, we asked if they wanted anything we hadn’t provided,” Porter says. “They all asked for mops, brooms, dust pans and cleaning products so they could keep their spaces clean.”

She says as the cold weather gets colder, there is still a need for winter clothes like hats, mitts, gloves, socks, boots, good winter jackets and hygiene products of all kinds.

And yes, this is your tax dollar at work. In the exact same way my tax dollars pay for your sidewalks and road repair; your health care; subsidies for programs that benefit your children and our seniors; for your protection services at all levels such as local police forces and the RCMP; for your national defense system including the Canadian Coast Guard; for education at all levels; and for food safety inspection so none of us get sick; and so much more – my tax dollars and yours support improving the lives of fellow Nova Scotian residents. I won’t complain about paying for you and your comforts, so I appreciate you accepting our lovely social democratic system in all its glorious fullness for the benefit of all of us.

So, get on board. Quit “yer bellyachin’.” Be part of the solution – not part of the problem. Get a heart. Be happy for others who are given “stuff” that improves their quality of living. That’s the sign of a mature person. And never, ever ask again: “What’s being done about the working class?” in response to announcements about social programs. It makes you sound like a dork.

When asked what those who care can do for those in need, Porter’s response is simple and clear: “If you see someone struggling, do anything you can.”

 

Rosemary Godin is a United Church minister and trained journalist. She lives in Westmount. [email protected]

This first appeared in The Cape Breton Post on January 27, 2025.