Last night, more than 300 Kentville business owners, residents, and members of Town Council came together to have a difficult, but necessary, conversation about homelessness in our town and the impacts many people are feeling. 

 

We, the Downtown Kentville Business Community, after being asked members of the business community to take action and find solutions for the disturbances being experienced downtown, started down an elaborate journey of learning about the root causes of the problems we were seeing, and ended up realizing a lot of information that needed to be shared with the community.

 

So, we collaborated with Minister John Lohr and Open Arms Resource Center (the organization in town which has received the most public scrutiny and negative media) to organize a panel of experts from the Department of Opportunities and Social Development, Nova Scotia Health Authority - Mental Health & Addictions, and Kentville Police Service to discuss the challenges we’re seeing downtown, the realities behind them, and the supports needed to move forward in a way that allows both local businesses to thrive and individuals who are unwell in community to be supported with care.

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The meeting was intended to be a followup from the Business-only meeting held on November 14, 2025, but we didn’t want anyone to feel left out, so this meeting was open to anyone who wanted to attend— and it turns out that was a lot of you. Thank you to those of you who gave of your time and energy to be present.

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For those who couldn’t make it, here’s the briefest of Coles notes as to what was discussed:

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The Four Questions That Guided the Meeting

The agenda focused on four key questions that we hear most often in our community:

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1) Why are there so many unhoused individuals in Kentville? Is the plan to bring more unhoused individuals to Kentville?

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Kentville is a service hub. We have a hospital, a courthouse, and many social and health services located close together. We also have basic necessities like grocery stores, laundry, transit, and walkable streets.

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Across Nova Scotia, and in many other provinces, governments are using centralized service hubs because research shows that when people can access health care, housing support, and social services in one place, outcomes improve and pressure on emergency services and downtowns decreases.

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Yes, some people come to Kentville from outside the town to access shelter services. But shelter services are not a long-term solution. The goal is to help them stabilize and then move to the community where they want to live— most often their home community, where they already have connections.

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It’s important to understand that shelter services in Kentville are not expanding. Organizations like Open Arms, The Portal, Project Hope, and Valley Connect Outreach are actively helping people move out of shelters and into housing. When people disappear from the streets, it is often because that work has been successful.

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Additional context that matters:
It’s also important to understand that people always have the right to choose whether or not they stay in a shelter. Shelters have baseline community guidelines that residents are expected to follow, and not everyone is ready or able to do that at every point in their journey. Some people will choose to live rough for a period of time instead.

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Just like you and I decide where we spend our day, someone who is staying in a shelter is not expected to sit on their bed all day. People have a basic human right to choose where they want to be at any given time, and that often includes spending part of the day outside in the community.

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Seeing someone outdoors during the day does not necessarily mean they are unhoused, unsheltered, or not receiving support — it often reflects personal choice, autonomy, and the realities of how shelter systems work.

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2) Why am I seeing more people in my community who appear unwell? 

 

What we’re seeing is not a sudden rise in mental illness. What we’re seeing is the impact of people being underpaid and priced out of housing.

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Housing costs have gone up very quickly. Homes that sold for around $200,000 before the pandemic are now selling for $400,000 or $500,000. Rents are higher, there are fewer places to live, and incomes haven’t kept up. More people are struggling to get by.

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When people lose housing, steady income, or support from family and community, it becomes really hard to stay well. Stress builds. People get tired. People lose hope. That distress becomes more visible, especially in public spaces. And once someone is living without stable housing, it becomes much harder to recover.

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Many of the people you may notice as “visibly unwell” are already connected to services. Mental health and homelessness can affect each other, but homelessness itself is mostly caused by economic pressures, not mental illness. We don’t fix homelessness with treatment alone. We fix it with affordable housing, enough income to live on, and strong supports in the community.

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It is also worth noting that people in Nova Scotia also have the legal right to be unwell in community. There is no involuntary treatment system (people are not forced into treatment against their will) unless very specific legal thresholds are met. This means that some behaviour may feel upsetting or uncomfortable without being illegal or dangerous.

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What can be done to ensure that community members feel safe?

 

We heard a lot of concern about safety last night — and first, we want to be very clear about this: we hear you.

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If you ever feel unsafe, at any time, please trust that feeling. Call the Kentville Police Service at their direct line (below), or call 911 in an emergency. Your safety matters.

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Kentville Police shared that while they are seeing a higher number of calls, violent crime rates in Kentville have not increased. Most calls relate to wellness checks, disturbances, or situations involving people in crisis — not violence. That doesn’t mean concerns aren’t real, but it does help put them in context.

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Public safety will continue to be a top priority for our town. At the same time, it’s clear that additional provincial funding is needed — both to support police presence and to expand outreach and mental health response. Those conversations are happening, and they will continue.

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The good news is: we don’t have to just wait and hope things improve. We all play a role in making our community feel safer.

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One idea that came up, and that has been proven to work, is something called “eyes on the street.” It’s a simple concept that urban planner Jane Jacobs talked about back in the 1960s, and it still holds true today.

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What it means is this: streets are safer when people are around.

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When people are walking, sitting outside, popping into shops, chatting with neighbours, or spending time downtown, there are more natural “eyes” watching what’s happening. That alone can discourage harmful behaviour and make everyone feel more secure.

You’ve probably felt this yourself. A busy street feels safer than an empty one. Activity creates safety — and safety encourages more activity.

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This works because:

• People notice when something doesn’t seem right

• Businesses and residents feel a sense of shared responsibility

• There’s less anonymity, which reduces risky behaviour

• Stronger connections build trust and care for the place we live

 

In short, being in community helps keep community safe.

This is why things like enjoying the trails, walking your dog in town, local events, patios, evening hours, good lighting, and simply showing up downtown matter. They’re not just “nice to have” — they are part of the safety picture.

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Safety isn’t only about enforcement. It’s also about presence, connection, and people feeling like they belong here, and that we're looking out for one another.

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4. What should I do if I encounter someone who is unhoused?

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If you feel unsafe:​​