Photo by Susan Madden Lankford
Deputy Premier Deb Matthews said:
For far too long we have not challenged ourselves, as we should, to solve this problem. We have accepted it. Well, we are no longer going to turn a blind eye.
Today we are taking a very important step forward. We have a plan, We know what we need to know. We are rolling up our sleeves and we are getting to work.
In the short term, the province is earmarking $10 million over two years on initiatives to prevent and end homelessness. The money is part of Ontario’s $50-million local poverty reduction fund.
With the newly elected Liberal government in Ottawa promising to partner with provinces on a national affordable housing strategy, Matthews and Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Ted McMeekin expect funding in this area to increase.
“Isn’t it nice to have a federal partner at last?” McMeekin asked. “Due to the complexity and many faces of homelessness, the problem is best fought at the local level, with the help of non-profit and private-sector partners.”
Looking toward the 10-year goal, municipalities will be expected to have local strategies to end homelessness and a common approach to collecting, measuring and tracking data.
Advisory panel member Pedro Barata, of United Way Toronto, said:
When it comes to complex issues like homelessness, it is very important to have a focus, so we aren’t moving about in a million directions. What’s really encouraging is that we now have three levels of government that are, in general, on the same page in wanting to move forward on this issue.
Affordable housing advocate and advisory panel member Michael Shapcott lauded the province for setting a goal and getting started on a plan to meet it. “But as we all know, nothing significant can happen in housing without more bricks and mortar, and money is absolutely key,” he said.
Under the provincial plan, homelessness is defined as: “the situation of a person or a family without stable, permanent, appropriate housing or the immediate prospect, means and ability of acquiring it.” Chronic homelessness is defined as someone, often with a disabling condition, who has been homeless for six months or more in the past year.
“Familiar Face Fred,” is a a man who was homeless for 15 years in London, Ont. In the year before Fred was housed, he visited the local hospital emergency department more than 250 times, often by ambulance. He had more than 400 encounters with police — more than one a day. In the year after a London-area agency worked with Fred to find him a stable home with supports, he visited the hospital emergency department twice, and Fred had no encounters with police.
Matthews concluded:
Even the most hard-hearted people agree that we are way better to provide housing than to pay for all those unnecessary supports. What Fred’s story illustrates is that we can do this, and all of us — not just Fred — are better off when we do. Fred is living proof that we can end homelessness. Where there is a will, we can achieve this goal.
CANADIAN HOMELESSNESS FACTS
* 235,000 Canadians experience homelessness every year.
* 35,000 of them are homeless on any given night.
* 6,000 young people use homeless shelters every night across Canada.
* 30,000 youth sleep in shelters every year.
* 2.4% of the general population is made up of aboriginal people, but 16% of the homeless in Toronto are aboriginal.
* Toronto’s emergency shelter system has 4,500 beds but was used by 16,000 homeless people in 2014.
* $44.1 million (Can.) has been allocated by Ontario to help support affordable housing for aboriginal people.
* More than $9.1 million has been committed to build or repair 126 units of affordable housing, as of Sept. 2015.
