Tenant advocacy where it's needed most
- 22 hours ago
- 2 min read
"For us at Dalhousie Legal Aid Service, partnering with The North Grove makes sense, because we are trying to serve tenants, and The North Grove is in the area with the greatest concentration of tenants in the city,” says Hannah Main.
In Dartmouth North, nearly 90% of community members are renters—making them especially vulnerable to the housing crisis. “This is way above the provincial average.”
Together, we ensure that vital tenant advocacy is available in the community where it’s needed most.
A Community Legal Worker talking with community members at The North Grove.
As one of the only affordable neighbourhoods left in the city, Dartmouth North’s high-density rental housing is in high demand; and home to people experiencing many different challenges. One of those challenges: risk of eviction.
In their report "Human Rights in a Housing Crisis", Dalhousie Legal Aid Service found that Dartmouth North had, by far, the most eviction applications of all regions in the province.
Additionally, 22% of households in Dartmouth North live below the Market Basket Measure (MBM) threshold of poverty. Double the average across the HRM. For community members already struggling to make ‘affordable’ monthly rent payments amidst a city-wide housing shortage—the thought of eviction is terrifying.
For decades, Dalhousie Legal Aid Service (DLAS) has been empowering and educating tenants about their rights through free legal support at their community-based legal aid law office in Halifax. They are one of more than 25 partner organizations that The North Grove works with to bring essential services to Dartmouth North.
“It's a win-win: Our services become more accessible to the public in Dartmouth North, and we also have the benefit of seeing tenant issues as they come up, allowing us to be more in tune with what tenants are dealing with.”
Community Legal Workers like Hannah from the organization’s Eviction Prevention Program offer support to community members at The North Grove’s Drop-in Breakfast twice every month.
“Our goal is to prevent evictions and to help tenants know and assert their housing rights,” says Hannah.
“Through The North Grove, we have been connected with tenants who are dealing with evictions, serious issues with the conditions of their housing, and other landlord-tenant disputes.”
Everyday community members come to The North Grove seeking support navigating all sorts of challenges. Housing insecurity is consistently a top concern.
“One of the concerning issues we're seeing in the Dartmouth North area is landlords attempting to evict long-term tenants. We encourage anyone who is in a situation like this to come see us the next time we're at the North Grove,” says Hannah.
Are you a community member facing tenancy challenges? Drop in and connect with Hannah and the team from DLAS at The North Grove on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, 9:00-10:30 am. More information is available in our program calendar.
You can also check out Dalhousie Legal Aid’s Tenants Rights Guide.
If your organization is interested in partnering with The North Grove, please reach out to Hub Services Manager, Caralee McDaniel to discuss how our groups can work together to build a thriving community.
902 464 8234 ext. 1011
