A Nova Scotia town is calling on the province to close its local homeless shelter and work on a transition plan for the facility’s residents. New Glasgow Town Council passed a unanimous motion Monday, asking for the Northstar Shelter – formerly known as Viola’s Place – to “cease operations immediately.” “Council firmly believes the current emergency shelter model, operating as is and where is, is not adequately addressing the complex needs of people experiencing chronic homelessness and addiction,” said the town in a statement Tuesday. New Glasgow says it wants to work with the province and community partners to develop a transition plan to ensure people who use the shelter continue to receive housing, mental health, addictions, and other supports. The town adds it wants to move beyond an emergency shelter model and focus on co-ordinated services that help people in crisis access treatment and housing. “Council is calling for a more comprehensive, health-focused continuum of care that includes treatment, residential rehabilitation programs, mental health supports in addition to counselling services and staff who can support pathways to supportive and transitional housing,” said New Glasgow in its statement. Neither the shelter nor the Nova Scotia government have commented on the matter at this time. Public safety concerns The shelter first opened in 2018 and was forced to expand in 2022 due to increased demand. The team helps with housing, medical, mental health and addiction support and an outreach team checks on people living in encampments. But some New Glasgow residents and business owners near the shelter have raised safety concerns, including public drug use, assaults, property damage and theft. Mayor Nancy Dicks previously told CTV News that, while the shelter does crucial work, some people in the area no longer feel safe. The complaints prompted the town to hold a public meeting about the facility on Oct. 1, 2025. After the meeting, the town submitted some requests to the shelter, including changing the name from Viola’s Place. “We have also asked them, because this has been asked by Viola’s Desmond’s family, is that they do look at a name change,” said Dicks in December 2025. The shelter was named after Nova Scotia civil rights activist Viola Desmond, a Black businesswoman who challenged racial discrimination when she refused to leave the whites-only section of the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow in 1946. The organization announced in June the facility would be renamed to Northstar Shelter and Support Services, though it’s still legally registered as Viola’s Place Society. There have also been calls to relocate the shelter, which is near a school. The town formed a committee in January to explore solutions, including possibly relocating the shelter. Final decisions about closing or relocating the shelter are ultimately up to the province. With files from CTV News Atlantic’s Emma Convey For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
