Kentville, N.S., Mayor Andrew Zebian is raising concerns about homelessness, mental health issues, addictions and vandalism in the town. “We are seeing a lot of vandalism in town, we are seeing a lot of needles left around, things are becoming unsafe. The business community is worried, the residents are worried, our staff can’t keep up with the cleanup of public spaces,” says Zebian. The town has one shelter that’s run by the province, Open Arms Shelter & Individual Supports. Julie Ogilvie, senior communications specialist for the shelter, says 98 per cent of their clients are from across the Annapolis Valley. “We do offer shelter and food in our emergency services but our largest connection with people to help them to connect with the social services that they need, like mental health or addictions experts we also have people coming onsite to help with counselling , therapy and medical appointments,” says Ogilvie. The Open Arms shelter is located in downtown Kentville on Bridge Street. Their goal is to not only give someone a place to sleep and something to eat but eventually help them with a permanent housing solution. “Some individuals are resenting complex needs for health cases or drug addictions. Unfortunately we don’t have those services in house here, those are outside of our specialty but we do work to connect people with those supports wherever possible,” says Ogilvie. The service provider offers 40 beds between both the download location and their Pallet shelters, Tiny Meadows, which is down the street from it. Ogilvie explains that between the two, they are operating at 98 percent capacity all the time. Zebian feels the shelter’s location could be contributing to the issues within the community. “Police data shows that 35 per cent of the police calls in a two-month period are related to people that are accessing support from the shelter,” says Zebian. Kentville police said in a statement to CTV News that their call volume increased by approximately 25 per cent between 2023 and 2025. “The trend appears to be continuing in 2026. With approximately three-and-a-half months still remaining in the year, we have nearly surpassed the total number of calls recorded in all of 2025. If the current trend continues, we anticipate an overall increase of approximately 35 per cent over last year,” says Deputy Chief Ken Reade. Police say many of the calls they respond to involve underlying concerns related to mental health and addiction. They say housing insecurity and food shortages are also being identified as contributing factors in some of the problems officer’s encounter. “Of particular concern is the increase in Criminal Code charges, which have risen by approximately 140 per cent compared with the same period last year,” says Reade. Kentville police say they’re seeing calls involving thefts, assaults, breaches of court orders, conditions, mischief and drug use. “I’m not going to blame the provider for all the issues in Kentville. I am going to look at the province because they are the ones that fund the provider and they should be the one stepping in to give the provider the proper support, the proper location so people can thrive there,” says Zebian. The mayor says a different location for the shelter is needed. “It makes sense that it’s in a space downtown but maybe not right on that street in a small building. I think we could do better in our next iteration of giving the people that use the services a better space that feels more accessible while also giving the community and businesses a little more space as well,” says Ogilvie. She explains their team is working with the mayor, municipality and province to better understand the concerns within the community and look at the future operation of their shelter system. Ogilvie says they have weekly calls and she is very happy the town is coming to the table to help them and discuss with the province ways to look at their future. “Then what we are going to need is support in actualizing that dream. So it might sound easy to say let’s come up with a new shelter location and a bigger place with more structure but getting to that place is going to take money and time from the province but also the community because we have to find a way that this is going to work for everyone,” says Ogilvie. Ogilvie explains it would also be beneficial to have more shelter spaces across the valley and other parts of the province so it’s not concentrated in one town. “I hear from the business community daily and I hear from people that come to town daily, and a lot of them are saying that they feel scared to come to Kentville and that breaks my heart,” Zebian said. “When I came to Kentville 15 years ago, a lot of the windows were papered up and in the last 15 years this town has kinda been reformed, and our businesses have been thriving. “When I hear that they want to leave or they aren’t comfortable here, it breaks my heart because I never want to see Kentville come back and under my watch I’m determined to not let that happen.” For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
