Eleanor’s Court at One Year: Lala’s Story
“You make good friends here and we all support each other.”
Santa Rivera is better known as ‘Lala’ by her friends at Eleanor’s Court.
The 41-year-old has always been drawn to music, especially traditional Indigenous music, and she loves to sing. She has a deep connection to her Mi’kmaq culture and, with her Auntie, she takes part in traditional ceremonies like water walks and powwows throughout Mi’kma’ki-Nova Scotia.
At Eleanor’s Court, Lala joins in on weekly music nights and enjoys being part of a supportive community.
“Being here, having my neighbours — they’re pretty awesome people. You make good friends here and we all support each other,” she said. “There’s never a dull moment because when you walk down the hallway, everybody says hi to everybody and we’re all friends.”
Growing up in Eskasoni, Lala had a difficult home life and left home in her early twenties.
“The first chance I got to leave my mother’s house, I took off,” she recalled. “I’ve been out on the street for a long time, sleeping in cars, couch surfing, stuff like that. I lost a lot, but when I came here, it helped me a lot.”
In 2024, Lala moved in to The Village at Pine Tree Park, the 35-unit emergency shelter village run by New Dawn and the Ally Centre of Cape Breton. “Then I got a letter saying I got an apartment here at Eleanor’s Court and I was so grateful. Now a year has gone by and I got another one-year lease, and I’m so happy,” she said.
Lala was among the first 25 residents of Eleanor’s Court who moved in last spring. For many of them, it was their first apartment in a long time, and offered a new level of privacy and independence. Each apartment includes a private bathroom, a bedroom, and a kitchenette and small living room. The building has a large shared kitchen and common area, laundry facilities, and spaces for services and programming, including counselling, a managed alcohol program, peer support, and housing support.
“When I first moved in here, I had a hard time staying inside because I was so used to being outside, so it was really hot and I’d have to go sit outside. It took me a while to get used to it,” Lala said. “Now people are always telling me I look good, I seem happier and stuff like that. And I do feel good.”
Eleanor’s Court provides long-term, supportive housing with a harm reduction approach. The building’s location in North End Sydney gives residents access to other community services including the regional library, the Loaves and Fishes foodbank, the YMCA and its employment programs, the Every Women’s Centre, Transition House, and the Ally Centre, which provides healthcare, a safe needle exchange, and a federally regulated and provincially funded overdose prevention site.
The Ally Centre staffs Eleanor’s Court 24/7 and provides programming that helps build community in the building, including shared holiday meals, a Halloween costume party and pumpkin carving contest, cooking workshops, an Easter egg hunt, and a barbeque to celebrate Pride Week. There’s arts and crafts every second Friday, a much-loved and cared for garden in the courtyard, and a rotation of fresh-baked sweets and cookies made by staff and residents in the shared kitchen.
“Our staff is so good and they make it feel so much more like a home. It makes a huge difference, these little fun things they do,” said Yvonne Jessome, the manager of Eleanor’s Court. “In a year, the tenants and staff, both, have made such a fun, safe, supportive community and it’s been really cool to see.”
Living at Eleanor’s Court has given Lala the time and space to focus on one of her interests: making crafts, like dream catchers and key chains. “The whole winter I was building them up and when I go to powwows I’ll lay them out and sell them and that’s how I’m able to travel from powwow to powwow,” she said.
She’s looking forward to another year living at Eleanor’s Court, the place she now calls home. Almost two-thirds of the original tenants were eligible for a renewal of their lease at the end of the first year. The others left for a variety of reasons, including some for permanent housing in the community.
For New Dawn, Eleanor’s Court is about much more than providing an apartment. It’s about creating the conditions for people to rebuild their lives with dignity, stability, and community.
“By providing beautiful, dignified, affordable, supportive housing to those in our community who are struggling the most, we are a stronger, more loving, and safer community for it,” said New Dawn’s President and CEO, Erika Shea.
One year after opening its doors, Eleanor’s Court has become exactly what it was intended to be: a safe, supportive place where people can heal, grow, and move forward — together.
