N.S. information service says housing, food supports biggest unmet needs in province

A report from 211 Nova Scotia says housing and food supports are lacking in the province.

211 Nova Scotia, a free referral and information service, says housing, food and utility supports are the biggest unmet needs in the province so far this year.

211 Nova Scotia’s data report for the first three months of 2025 identified housing and shelter as 13 per cent of the unmet needs in the province. Food support is 12 per cent and utility support is 11 per cent.

“An unmet need is recorded when a Community Resource Navigator is unable to find a resource to meet a person’s needs,” the report reads. “The most common reasons for unmet needs are that there is no program found to meet a need, the agency is full or there is a waiting list, the individual is ineligible for service, or the individual has already depleted the services.”

Other major unmet needs include health supportive services (10 per cent) and temporary financial assistance (eight per cent).

“It’s very alarming,” says Darcy MacDonald, executive director of United Way of Pictou County. “It’s very hard knowing that we have people in those situations and that we cannot help them all of the time.”

211 Nova Scotia said it fielded 14,179 contacts from Jan. 1 to March 31. Mental health counselling comprised 16 per cent of referrals in that time period.

“We’re not surprised to see that this is a growing request in Nova Scotia, because Nova Scotia has some of the highest rates of mood disorders, mental illnesses and substance use disorders in the country,” says Niecole Killawee, communications manager for the Mental Health Foundation of Nova Scotia.

Housing and shelter made up 11 per cent of the referrals and food support comprised seven per cent.

Adults aged 35 to 54 made up 40 per cent of all contacts and 59 per cent of users identified as female.

“If you are struggling, if you don’t know where to turn, if you don’t know what’s available in your community, if you’re at all confused or frankly just need a compassionate ear, dial 211,” says Nick Jennery, executive director for 211 Nova Scotia.

-With files from CTV Atlantic’s Callum Smith

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