Liverpool a 'rich person's town' now, men's shelter resident says

A Liverpool, N.S., man with an intellectual disability says he's living in a men's shelter in Halifaxbecause affordable housing is too hard to find in his South Shore hometown.

Eddie Greek, who receives income assistance from the province, said he was paying $375 a monthplus utilitiesfor a one-bedroom apartment in Liverpool.

At the end of July, for reasons Greek said are "between me and my landlord,"he was given one month's notice to find a new home.

The 52-year-old said he enlisted friends to help him find an apartmentand he applied for a few, but he didn't get them.

"So, I said, I can't afford to do this, I just can't do this," Greek said. "If I didn't come to Halifax, I would have been out on the streets."

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The night before he was set to move, Greek said, he was told that community members who had rallied on Facebook to try and help him find accommodations had found a place for him in town. But he didn't take it.

"I already had my furniture gone, apartment cleaned, all ready to go," he said. "It's too late, why couldn't you do this a week ago?"

He's now staying at the Metro Turning Point men's shelter in Halifax.

Town for the wealthy?

"You have to have money in order to stay there," Greek said. "I just couldn't afford to stay there. It's a rich person's town now."

"Now the town is for retired people who've got the money," he said. "For some reason, they don't think of the people who [are]on welfare or assistance or the people who don't have the money. See you later. We don't want you."

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BruceInglis, outgoingcouncillorwith the Region of Queens Municipality, toldCBC'sInformation Morning,"I don't know that it's necessarily turned into a rich person's town, but I understand the gap that exists" in Liverpool.

"There's affordable housing available, but of course there's a long line-up for it," he said."And the first priority, of course, goes to families with children."

Limited housing stock

Inglis said housing options are limited in a place like Liverpool, where landlords typically divide up older homes to make apartments. Small bachelor units are hardto find, he said, and this makes housing options less affordable.

"There's a gap between the income that's provided for somebody like Ed and what a lot of landlords are willing to accept for rent," he said. "Sometimes I think the solution is in finding ways to bring the income up."

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Greek's story has made people in Liverpool more aware of the barriers many low-income residents face, Inglis said.

"I think that now that there's a greater awareness and it's not unique to Ed, you know there'd be others in his situation there's more of a will to help."

Hoping to find work

Inglis, who said he has known Greek for 35 years, said his friend decided to stick with his Halifax plan, in the hopes of getting work. "But certainly, lots of people miss him in Liverpool."

"You gotta respect someone's decision, and Ed is a strong-willed guy, and it really was at the last moment that somebody found one that was in his price range," Inglis said.

"So, he had his decision made and I think he needs to explore that opportunity and see what Halifax might hold for him."

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He said Greek was a fixture in downtown Liverpool, who would typically spend his mornings outside the post office "warming the bench thereand talking to folks."

He also worked with the local Nova Scotia Junior Hockey League team, the Liverpool Privateers, and will continue to bus down from Halifax with the players to attendgames.

"Certainly, the lines between Ed and Liverpool are wide open," Inglis said.

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