Government of Canada takes concrete action to address homelessness in London

LONDON, ON, Sept. 10, 2018 /CNW/ - One of the most important roles of the Government of Canada is to support vulnerable Canadians, including those who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

The Government of Canada supports communities developing innovative solutions to prevent and reduce homelessness. Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary (Housing and Urban Affairs), on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, today announced the Lawson Health Research Institute will receive $223,572 from the Homelessness Partnering Strategy's (HPS) Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream to support the project No Fixed Address Version 2 Expansion.

With this funding the Lawson Health Research Institute, which is part of the London Health Sciences Centre Research, will further refine the No Fixed Address strategy. The project reaches and supports patients during the transitional period when they are being discharged from the hospital and re-integrated into the community. The Lawson Health Research Institute will extend the strategy to two additional hospitals: the Victoria Hospital and the University Hospital. Through partnerships between service providers and non-profit organizations the No Fixed Address strategy helps prevent homelessness by providing timely and accessible support to patients who would otherwise be discharged into homelessness. The previous No Fixed Address strategy was found to prevent homelessness in 95 percent of cases.

Quotes

"I'm pleased that we continue to support the London Health Sciences Centre Research. In providing individuals with the assistance they need when leaving the hospital, they are breaking the cycle of homelessness in the community. The No Fixed Address strategy is an important step in the development of a best-practice model of discharge in Canada."
? Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Our Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness in Canada. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Even one person on the streets is too many. Projects like this one, by the London Health Sciences Centre Research, support communities in our goal of reducing chronic homelessness in Canada by 50 percent."
? Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Lawson's expanded No Fixed Address research project is the first evaluation anywhere of a strategy to reduce the number of patients being discharged into homelessness. There is almost no literature on any aspect of this troublesome issue. Our goal is to reach and support those patients during the crucial period of transitioning from hospital and into the community."
? Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Principal Investigator, Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery, and Assistant Director, Lawson Health Research Institute

Quick Facts

• As part of the National Housing Strategy, the Government announced a total investment of $2.2 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness through an expanded federal homelessness program. By 2021?22, this will double annual investments compared to 2015-16.
• This investment builds on investments made through Budget 2016 of $111.8 million in funding over two years and will maintain funding levels for 2018-19.
• These investments put Canada on a path to reduce chronic homelessness by 50 percent by empowering local communities to deliver a combination of housing programs and support services, responsive and preventive measures.
• On June 11, 2018, the Government of Canada announced Reaching Home, the redesigned federal homelessness program.
• Reaching Home will replace the existing Homelessness Partnering Strategy as of April 1, 2019.

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Homelessness Partnering Strategy

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Backgrounder

Homelessness Partnering Strategy

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) is a unique community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to 61 Designated Communities in all provinces and territories.

The HPS supports community efforts and allocates funds accordingly, which provides communities with the flexibility to invest in proven approaches that reduce homelessness at the local level. HPS funds are targeted directly toward community priorities which have been identified through an inclusive community planning process, involving officials from all levels of government, community stakeholders, and the private and voluntary sectors. The objectives of the HPS are achieved through several funding streams.

Regional Funding Streams

The majority of HPS funding is delivered regionally through three funding streams:

• Designated Communities;
• Rural and Remote Homelessness (non-Designated Communities); and
• Aboriginal Homelessness.

These streams focus on the needs of homeless individuals and individuals at imminent risk of homelessness in the community, and provide funding to help individuals gain and maintain a stable living arrangement.

National projects

The national funding streams help to develop a better understanding of homelessness based on local data collection, and make surplus federal real properties available to organizations that plan to use the facilities to address homelessness.

• Innovative Solutions to Homelessness
• National Homelessness Information System; and
• Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative.

Innovative Solutions to Homelessness

The Innovative Solutions to Homelessness is one of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy funding streams. This funding stream can be used to support community-based innovative projects to reduce homelessness and its cost; build strategic partnerships with key stakeholders; and, test and/or share new tools, provide training and technical assistance, develop social metrics, and analyze research findings geared towards homelessness.

In 2016, a call for proposals was launched to identify 1) large-scale pilot projects (between $25,000 and $500,000) and 2) small-scale experimental projects or prototypes (up to $25,000) to create and/or evaluate concrete and potentially ground-breaking practices, establish strategic partnerships, develop innovative tools and best practices or initiatives that individuals, organizations, or communities can use to prevent or reduce homelessness.

SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada