TRURO - A study is underway to determine the need for a homeless shelter in the Truro area.
The federal government is covering the cost of the $24,000 study, which Colliers International has been working on since Aug. 16. It will be complete Oct. 27.
"There's definitely a need for some expanded services and this is what this feasibility study will determine, whether there is a need in this community to continue on and look for an actual building," said Cumberland Colchester Musquodoboit Valley MP Scott Armstrong.
He announced the funding Tuesday to the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Colchester East Hants Branch.
The study will determine the community's needs, establish a building layout based on client needs, identify suitable sites and develop a business case for the proposed housing project.
"Once the feasibility study is done then we would make application for further funding to move it to the next step," said Crystal Hill, executive director of the local CMHA branch.
The housing project would assist the homeless and those at risk of being homeless.
"Some people don't know from month to month where they might be three months down the road," Hill said.
Armstrong, a former educator, said children "often bear the brunt of homelessness" when a family is evicted or have to leave their homes.
"This could be a very, very valuable thing to support not only the adults, who are trying to provide housing for their children, but the children themselves, so they can maintain their education at their current school without having to move somewhere else," he said.
jmalloy@trurodaily.com
