Downtown Halifax's Navigator Outreach Program

Downtown Halifax's Navigator Outreach Program (DHNOP) offers direct support to the unhoused and precarious housed population in the urban core.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- support finding employment,
- accessing medication,
- obtaining identification,
- providing referrals to appropriate community programs,
- providing financial support for specific needs, like gift cards for groceries and weather appropriate attire/gear,
- and of course, the big one - finding suitable/affordable housing.

The DHNOP initiative started 15 years ago and is a proud partnership between Downtown Halifax Business Commission and Spring Garden Area Business Association (and receives funding from HRM.)

Are you looking for individual support?

If you are in distress or looking for individual help and support, please call or text 211 or visit them online at ns.211.ca.

211 Nova Scotia is a free helpline that connects you to community and social services in your area 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in over 150 languages.

How can you help? Donate!

We have set-up an online donation page through Square:

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

If you have any general questions please contact our office at 902-423-6658, or by email info@downtownhalifax.ca

If you are media, please contact HRM at mediarelations@halifax.ca with your specific request.

Media:

Click here to read Jen Taplin's (Saltwire) latest story on Lucas's "Acts of Kindness".
Click here to listen to Lucas on CBC's Info Morning discuss storm prep for the unhoused before Hurricane Lee/ Friday, September 15, 2023.
Click here to watch Lucas talk to Global TV's Eilish Bonang on August 30, 2023.
Click here for a great story done by CBC Journalist Rebecca Zandbergen explaining the history of social housing in Canada.

Follow our Navigator X page to stay in the loop.

Data and Statistics

We partner with a variety of community agencies to ensure effective service delivery to the clients they work with. An example of this partnership is seen with the "Semi-annual count of people sleeping outside in HRM" released on December 6, 2022.

Point-in-Time Count 2022 - Every 2 years, the federal government mandates that cities who receive federal funding for homelessness conduct a survey and count of the number of people experiencing homelessness in one day. This is called the Point-in-Time (PiT) Count. The Navigator Program was awarded the contract for the 2022 PiT Count. This allowed us to get quality data on the state of homelessness in Halifax, which can be found here.

Upholding dignity and human rights: the Federal Housing Advocate’s review of homeless encampments (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2024) - The Federal Housing Advocate launched a systemic review of encampments in February 2023. This review has been carried out pursuant to the National Housing Strategy Act. The review provides recommendations to establish a National Encampments Response plan, with detailed recommendations for each level of governments and their roles. Read the report here.

Keys to a housing secure future for all Nova Scotians (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 2021) - The report examines what it would take to ensure that everyone has housing in Nova Scotia. Findings prioritize public, non-market affordable housing, and moving away from our current market-reliant approach. Read the report here.

Outreach

Downtown Halifax's Navigator Outreach Program is primarily an outreach service that is built on the belief that everyone should have equal access to social services. Our mission is to support the homeless and street involved community to address barriers in accessing housing, education, employment, mental health supports, addictions treatment, social programs, and health care. Our Navigator interacts with people on the streets and in the places where they frequent. From April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, the Navigator supported 229 individuals.

Housing Support

The program offers housing and eviction prevention support to individuals and families across HRM. They provide individualized support to address barriers to securing and maintaining housing. Individuals receive help with housing searches, damage deposits, identification, power and phone arrears, rental arrears, transportation to viewings, securing funding and references. Many individuals approached during outreach are not able to secure employment or housing. Often, difficult behaviours create too big a barrier. Our Navigator provides support to these individuals as they attempt to navigate various systems, and advocates for specific services, including addictions services, mental health supports, income assistance, legal/justice. The Navigator often accompanies individuals to appointments to ensure their attempts to access services are smooth and issue-free.

Employment

Where individuals are motivated and assessed to be job-ready, we're able to offer key supports to assist them in securing and maintaining employment. This support ranges from providing bus tickets to course enrollments, providing basic work tools, clothing or specialized equipment (steel-toed boots, anti-skid shoes) and more. Some individuals may also be offered assistance to return to their home community, or relocate to another city if they have secured full-time employment.

Identification Support

Our program helps individuals obtain or replace their identification records in order to apply for work, open bank account, cash cheques, etc. Identification clinics are held on a monthly basis at the Halifax Central Library and Access Nova Scotia are key partners in assisting these efforts.

Medication Support

We work with all appropriate parties to help individuals apply for assistance, Pharmacare, and other programs that ensure they get the medication and support they need.

Phone Support

From obtaining a cell phone to accessing a landline, or adding minutes to an existing phone, we're here to help people make necessary connections via phone.

Community Partners

Downtown Halifax's Navigator Outreach Program has continued to partner with different community organizations to ensure effective service delivery to the people we work with. These community partners include:

Access Nova Scotia
Adsum for Women & Children
Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia
Connections Clubhouse
Direction 180
Department of Community Services
Department of Justice
Dalhousie Social Work Clinic
Dalhousie Legal Aid
St. Mary’s Basilica – Our Daily Bread Outreach
Shelter Nova Scotia
Halifax Public Libraries
Halifax Regional Municipality
Mi’kmaw Native Friendship Centre
Mainline Needle Exchange
Medavie
Halifax Regional Police
Salvation Army
Metro Works
Safety First
Welcome Housing
Phoenix for Youth
United Way
Saint Vincent de Paul Society
North End Downtown Dartmouth Navigator
North End Community Health Centre
Out of the Cold Community Association
The Ark
The Public Good Society
St. Luke's Freedom Renewal Centre