GUYSBOROUGH — The Community First: Guysborough County Housing Association marked a year of challenge and opportunity at its inaugural annual general meeting (AGM) June 17, including a review of progress, a look ahead and the release of findings from the group’s key housing needs assessment survey.
“We purchased our first six-unit apartment building in February, which is pretty quick out of the gate for us,” Nancy O’Regan, organizer of the association, told The Journal in an interview following the meeting at the Boylston Community Centre. The date was almost exactly one year after the Nova Scotia non-profit organization was incorporated in July 2024.
“Now, we’re working on renovating two of the units…. We’re really excited about being able to do that work,” she noted, adding that the group plans to add another seven units in the existing structure.
While Community First has made significant strides, she said one of its biggest ongoing challenges is funding.
“There’s no operating funds for community housing,” said O’Regan. “Other service providing organizations like transportation, daycares, women’s shelters all get a certain amount of operating funds but not housing groups. You’re expected to fund staff out of the revenue that you make from your housing projects.”
She said that a housing organization must reach a certain level before paying staff becomes affordable.
“We’ve been told that until you get to about 60 or 70 units, you really can’t afford to pay anybody to do anything interesting.”
O’Regan indicated that the group has received moral support from the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG), the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s and the Town of Mulgrave. She pointed out that most municipalities in the county have members appointed to local housing organizations. She added that Community First is advocating for MODG to adopt a policy that would provide the organization with multi-year operating funds.
“We have asked the Municipality of [the District of] Guysborough for additional seed funding or an operating grant, and they will be deciding on that early in July at their next meeting ... We need support with taxation. We need to be able to hire staff to do research, to do all kinds of things that we can’t fund.”
Over the past year, in addition to forming a 14-member board of directors and several working committees – finance, policy and governance and project opportunities – the group has hosted consultation sessions in every corner of Guysborough County, and is actively identifying new project sites in Sherbrooke, Canso and Mulgrave.
“Last Thursday (June 5), we went to Larry’s River, to the Acadian region, and talked to members of that community about their housing needs,” O’Regan said.
The results of the needs assessment survey, released at the AGM, show that the two groups most in need of housing are seniors – singles more than couples – and lone parent-led families.
O’Regan said that while building new units is important, it’s also necessary to preserve existing affordable housing stock. “Buying that existing building means that we can preserve that housing as affordable, which means the rents won’t go to market rent.”
She said the group is also prioritizing support services.
“Sometimes, people who need affordable housing also need [other] supports. They might need support with food security, transportation … They might need support just being able to manage with mental health and addictions issues, disability supports.”
That work, she said, is possible through partnerships with groups like A Roof Over Your Head, which serves both Antigonish and Guysborough counties, and Highland Community Residential Services, which helps individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities live independently.
Still, she added, all this work is driven by volunteers.
“We ask a lot and our volunteers have stepped up and put in a considerable amount of time. There’s some weeks that we have two, three, four meetings plus people are running around in between doing anything and everything that’s needed.”
The group relies heavily on its 14-member board, many of whom also serve on other housing committees and attend regional workshops and training events. O’Regan said new volunteers are always needed, especially people with experience in construction, fundraising, tenant support and project development.
She added that the group is also looking to build relationships with African Nova Scotian communities and organizations like the Antigonish Black Housing Association to support housing development across the region.
