Programs and Services

Adsum for Women & Children offers a continuum of services for youth, women and their children who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.  Adsum operates three facilities that are dedicated to and responsive to the needs of our clients:

Adsum House

The House is an emergency shelter that provides a safe, warm place to stay in central Halifax.  Since the doors were opened in 1983, the House has provided shelter to more than 12,000 youth, women and their children. 

Adsum House is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  In addition to safe shelter, qualified staff and volunteers offer a variety of services including nutritious meals, a clothing room, counseling, advocacy and referrals as well as evening programs in a comfortable yet communal setting.

Staff at Adsum House also operate a Crisis Line.  If you or someone you know needs immediate assistance, please call the crisis line at (903) 423-4443 or (902) 429-4443.

Adsum House has no guaranteed income.  We do expect a significant percentage of the funding from municipalities in the province.  They pay a per diem to the House to cover much of the costs associated with sheltering eligible clients.  Active fund raising ensures that we do not turn away clients simply because they are ineligible for government assistance (i.e. do not result in a per diem payment to Adsum).

Adsum Court

The Court is a long-term supportive housing option that has 23 independent living units or apartments.  Women living there contribute to their rent to a maximum of 30% of gross income.  Rental income covers the cost of maintaining the development and the mortgage payments.

A 24th unit functions as an office and programming staff.  Adsum has staff on site for about 35 hours a week who provide advocacy, referrals, group programming and individual supportive counseling.  Residents of the Court are encouraged to drop in to Adsum House for a meal or other support.

To request an application for an apartment at Adsum Court, please contact the business office at (902) 423-5049 or email us at adsum@adsumforwomen.org

Adsum Centre

The Centre is a communal living environment that provides support and programming, in a residential setting, to 16 women and their children who are trying to address barriers which have led them to experience homelessness.  Residents are asked to make a commitment of at least six months and stay up to 12 months to pursue their own goals for independent living.  Adsum Centre is located in Lakeside, just outside of Halifax.  It is staffed 24/7, as is the House.

Residents of the Centre are in a communal living environment.  That means that as many as four women (or a combination of four women and children) share a kitchen, living room, bathroom and back porch.  The women sharing the unit work independently and together on meeting their life skills of grocery shopping, planning meals, cooking, cleaning and communication.

Adsum Centre has a core program that runs a half day on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.  In addition, evening programs are offered based on the expressed needs and interests of Centre residents.  Programs focus on life skills, budgeting, nutrition, communication, exercise, advocacy, education and employability.  Specific examples include parenting, yoga, art classes, Reading Writing Arithmetic and computer skills for women.  Group and individual supportive counseling is also available.  Additionally, Adsum Centre assists women to connect to existing resources in the wider community.

Adsum Centre works on a self-referral basis.  There are two interviews and a tour:

Interview 1 - looks at the communal living guidelines and describes, in detail, the commitment women make to the Centre.  Applicants are given a worksheet to help in forming short and long-term goals.

Interview 2 - happens when a woman is interested in making a commitment and has prepared her short and long-term goals to discuss with staff.  It happens on-site in Lakeside.

Tour - usually happens as a part of the second interview.

A move-in date is arranged if the Centre seems to be a good fit for the applicant and as space becomes available.

Is Adsum Centre the right place for you?  To find out more about Adsum Centre's programs and services or to find out if this is the right place for you, contact the Centre at (902) 876-5011 or by email at mainoffice@adsumcentre.ca   Centre staff can fax or email the admission criteria or read them to you over the phone.

Statistics ~ 2007

• Adsum House provided shelter to 591 individuals in 2007, 33 of them children.
• Occupancy averaged 91% over the course of the year.  This means that 14.56 of 16 beds were filled every night.
• The average length of stay in 2007 was nine days, which is consistent with recent years.
• More than half of all clients reported that they came to the House because they were without housing.  The next most important reasons related to partner or family abuse, safety and family conflict.
• The single largest group of clients, by age, was 16-19 years.  Excluding children, 47% of all clients at the House were between 16-29 years.
• Two percent of all clients were 65 years of age or older.
• In terms of education levels, 38% of the women had completed high school and/or gained some post-secondary education.
• About half of the youth and women who departed the House in 2007 did not say where they were headed.  Of those who did, 16% moved into apartments; 6% went to stay with friends; another 4% went to stay with family; and 5% went to a supportive living arrangement. Two percent indicated that they were leaving Nova Scotia immediately, bound for another province.

• All apartments at Adsum Court were filled throughout 2007.
• Two tenants were asked to move out in 2007.  Six others moved out by choice.

• A total of 21 residents moved out of Adsum Centre in 2007.  Six women and four children moved into their own apartments; one moved into an apartment with her partner; six moved into a family member's or friend's household; two went to shelters and two did not indicate where they were going.
• Four residents had custody of their children while living at the Centre last year.  All had open cases with a child protection agency during their stay.
• The average length of stay in 2007 was 126 days, as compared with 132 days and 163 days in previous years.