Homelessness and Housing

Les sans-abri et le logement

Updated January 25, 2012
Page révisée le 25 janvier 2012

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[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

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January 24, 2012

New from
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation:

CMHC 2011 Canadian Housing Observer

HTML version:
http://www.cmhc.ca/en/corp/about/cahoob/cahoob_001.cfm
PDF version (8.7MB, 184 pages)
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/67508.pdf?fr=1327596686971

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Français:
L'Observateur du logement au Canada 2011 de la SCH ]
Version HTML
http://www.cmhc.ca/fr/inso/info/obloca/obloca_001.cfm ]
Version PDF (9.4MB, 200 pages)
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/odpub/pdf/67509.pdf?fr=1327597155983

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The Observer is CMHC's annual flagship publication that provides comprehensive insight into Canada's housing market and is a key resource for Canada's housing experts, including housing finance and real estate professionals, policy makers, researchers, educators and builders. This year's feature article is on Housing Finance.

Table of contents:
· Overview
· Canadian Housing at a Glance — Dashboard
· Housing Finance
· Household Indebtedness
· Housing Markets
· Demographic and Socio-economic Influences on Housing Demand
· Recent Trends in Housing Affordability and Core Housing Need
· Sustainable, Housing and Communities
· Seniors' Housing
· The Evolution of Social Housing

The analysis contained in the Observer is complemented by a broad range of online detailed data tables that provide information on all of Canada's major housing markets, analytic reports, and CMHC's Housing in Canada Online (HiCO) tool.

· Data tables
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/about/cahoob/data/index.cfm

· Housing in Canada Online
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/corp/about/cahoob/cahoob_002.cfm

· Housing market information
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/hoficlincl/homain/index.cfm

Previous issues (2003 to 2010)
https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/catalog/productList.cfm?cat=122&lang=en&fr=1327599387500

Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/

Société canadienne d’hypothèques et de logement
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/fr/index.cfm

Get practical on homelessness
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/editorials/practical+homelessness/5920153/story.html
December 29, 2011
There is one national project that combines the best instincts of the political left with the best instincts of the political right, a project that could have an enormous practical impact in the next few years, if policy-makers give it the attention it deserves. Canada should build on its first cautious efforts to end chronichomelessness.
(...) The Mental Health Commission of Canada has been running a research demonstration project called At Home/Chez Soi for a few years, comparing the results of a housing-first model with more traditional services. The results so far are promising. The research projects will end in 2013. The goal is to “collectively develop a body of evidence to help Canada become a world leader in providing services to homeless people living with a mental illness.”
The projects have been running in five cities — Moncton, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Winnipeg — and importantly, each city’s project is tailored to its own population and circumstances. But the national scope is important. It has already allowed the researchers to learn generalizable lessons about such problems as securing housing in tight markets. A national effort, backed up with sufficient funding, might also provide cities and provinces with an incentive to break down the silos that have hampered holistic anti-homelessness efforts in the past.
Source:
Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/

Related links:

At Home/Chez Soi
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/homelessness.aspx
The At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project is investigating mental health
and homelessness in five Canadian cities: Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

What's happening in each of the five participating cities?

Moncton:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/MonctonResearch.aspx
- one of Canada’s fastest growing cities, with a shortage of services for Anglophones and Francophones.

Montreal:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/MontrealResearch.aspx
- different mental health services provided to homeless people in Quebec.

Toronto:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/TorontoResearch.aspx
- ethno-cultural diversity including new immigrants who are non-English speaking.

Winnipeg:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/WinnipegResearch.aspx
- urban Aboriginal population.

Vancouver:
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/English/Pages/VancouverResearch.aspx
- people who struggle with substance abuse and addictions.

The Federal Government’s Northern Strategy and
Implications for Housing in the Northwest Territories

On November 24, Frances Abele and Nick Falvo presented findings from their respective chapters in How Ottawa Spends 2011-12: Trimming Fat or Slicing Pork?
at an official launch and panel discussion (small PDF file), in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

In the November 27 issue (3rd item) of the Canadian Social Research Newsletter:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/personal/news271111.htm
... you'll find links to a blog posting by author Nick Falvo in the Progressive Economics Forum about the project, to a summary of and presentation notes on Nick's work, and to a summary of Frances Abele's chapter in How Ottawa Spends on the subject of the Conservatives’ Northern Development Strategy. The link below is to the complete 19-page chapter by Nick in How Ottawa Spends.

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Government-Assisted Housing in the Northwest Territories
and the Role of the Federal Government (PDF - 460K, 19 pages)
http://www.mqupblog.com/falvo.pdf
Nick Falvo
[Excerpt:]
This chapter [of How Ottawa Spends] examines the housing situation in the Northwest Territories, especially as it affects low-income residents.
Topics discussed in this chapter include the manner in which government-assisted housing is administered in the NWT, as well as the uniqueness of government-assisted housing in the nwt. Building costs, forms of government-assisted housing, recent policies of senior levels of government, and other emerging issues in the NWT combine to create a unique public policy study.
Source:
How Ottawa Spends, 2011-2012
Trimming Fat or Slicing Pork?
http://mqup.mcgill.ca/book.php?bookid=2697
By Christopher Stoney and G. Bruce Doern
A critical examination of the Harper Conservative's fiscal austerity strategies in the wake of Budget 2011-2012 and the often bitter politics of continued minority government.

[ Table of contents of the book:
http://mqup.mcgill.ca/extra.php?id=1179 ]
[ McGill-Queen's University Press
http://mqup.mcgill.ca/ ]

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Housing in the Northwest Territories
By Nick Falvo
November 26, 2011
Last week, I was in Yellowknife, where I released results of new research on affordable housing in the Northwest Territories (NWT). The research project was sponsored by the Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada, and was a collaboration with the Centre for Northern Families. (...) The research results, which appear as a chapter in the 2011-2012 edition of How Ottawa Spends, suggest that a long-term, permanent commitment is required by the federal government in order to sustain housing in the NWT. The chapter argues that it’s more cost effective for the federal government to reinvest the savings it accrues (as current agreements run out) into fixing already-existing housing, than it would be to allow current units to disappear completely and to then rebuild from scratch.
Source:
Progressive Economics Forum

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Use it or Lose It : The Conservatives’
Northern Development Strategy:
Summary (PDF - 146K, 1 page)
By Frances Abele
This chapter is about the Conservative government’s policies and actions towards the North since 2006. The Conservative policies are compared to those of earlier Liberal federal governments. They are also compared to the needs and wishes of northerners.

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Government-Assisted Housing in the Northwest
Territories and the Role of the Federal Government:
Summary (164K, 1 page)
By Nick Falvo
This chapter is about housing (especially for low-income households) in the Northwest Territories. The chapter compares housing in the NWT with housing in the rest of Canada.

[ Download Nick's Powerpoint presentation - (1.7MB, 37 slides)] [ Free Powerpoint viewer ]

Source:
The Homeless Hub : Northwest Territories
[ The Homeless Hub : National (Canada) ]
The mission of the Homeless Hub is to provide a single online tool for homelessness stakeholders from across Canada to use, to find the research, strategy and policy information they need to make informed decisions when creating effective solutions. (...) As a one-stop-shop, the Homeless Hub is a place where community services providers, researchers, government representatives, people who have experienced homelessness and the general public can access and share research, stories, and best practices

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From CBC North:

New Report Paints Grim Picture of Public Housing in the NWT
CBC Special Report
November 24, 2011
This is a transcript of the interview by the CBC's Joslyn Oosenbrug with the authors of the study, Nick Falvo from the Carleton University School of Public Policy and Administration, and Arlene Hache from the Centre of Northern Families in Yellowknife to discuss their findings.

CBC NorthBeat (YouTube video : duration 5:13)
This news video focuses on the release of the reports by Frances Abele and Nick Falvo.

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- Go to the Northwest Territories Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/ntbkmrk.htm

The Privatization of Social Housing
By Nick Falvo
November 5, 2011
Last weekend, I spoke on a panel at the Annual Conference of the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association. The panel was inspired in large part by the recent debate in Toronto over Mayor Rob Ford’s attempt to sell social housing units to private buyers. The panel, entitled “To Privatize or Not to Privatize? That is the question,” included myself, Vince Brescia (President and CEO of the Federation of Rental-housing Providers of Ontario), John Dickie (President of the Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations), and Margie Carlson (Director of Policy Research and Networks at the Social Housing Services Corporation).
- [incl. speaking notes from Nick Falvo]
Source:
Progressive Economics Forum
The Progressive Economics Forum aims to promote the development of a progressive economics community in Canada. The PEF brings together over 125 progressive economists, working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations.

New release:

At Home/Chez Soi
Research Demonstration Project in Mental Health and Homelessness : Toronto Site
October 2011 Update (PDF - 222K, 4 pages)"At Home/Chez Soi" Toronto Site Update #4: October 2011 (PDF attached).

580 people are now enrolled in "At Home/Chez Soi" in Toronto. This update includes some of what we've learned so far about participants and their experiences, as well as updates from the different groups involved in the project.

"At Home/Chez Soi" Research Demonstration Project in Mental Health and Homelessness is a five-city national research project exploring ways to help the growing number of homeless people across Canada who have mental health problems. The project is funded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada.

To learn more about the Toronto site, visit
http://www.mentalhealthcommission.ca/english/pages/TorontoResearch.aspx

For past issues of the "At Home/Chez Soi" Toronto Site Update, visit
http://www.stmichaelshospital.com/crich/projects/athome.php

To subscribe to/be removed from this list,
or to provide comments, please contact Emily Holton at holtone@smh.ca

At Home/Chez Soi
The At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project is investigating mental health
and homelessness in five Canadian cities: Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver.

What's happening in each of the five participating cities?

Moncton: one of Canada’s fastest growing cities, with a shortage of services for Anglophones and Francophones.

Montreal: different mental health services provided to homeless people in Quebec.

Toronto: ethno-cultural diversity including new immigrants who are non-English speaking.

Winnipeg: urban Aboriginal population.

Vancouver: people who struggle with substance abuse and addictions.

Links to more information about At Home/Chez Soi - this link takes you to a Google.ca search results page with more related resources

Ontario

Minority Ontario government creates opportunity
to bring in much-needed four-point housing plan
By Michael Shapcott
October 7, 2011
The minority Liberal government voters elected on October 6 provides a political opportunity for Ontario to realize a long-overdue and much-needed four-point affordable housing plan. The province’s last two minority governments delivered robust housing initiatives: In 1975, the province’s first rent regulation and tenant protection laws, which grew more substantial and effective until they were significantly dismantled in 1998; and Ontario’s first major affordable housing programs in 1985, which were successfully increased until they were shut down in 1995.

The signs of Ontario’s province-wide housing distress are clear:
http://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/Housing-Election-20112.pdf (466K, 2 pages)
- one in every three Ontario renter households are in core housing need – the federal government’s definition of precarious housing. Approximately 1.3 million provincial households pay 30 percent or more of their income on housing, the official definition of unaffordable housing.

A four-point housing agenda for the new minority Ontario government would include the following:
1. New affordable homes
2. Affordability measures
3. Rent regulation / rental housing protection
4. Ending homelessness / linking with supports

Source:
Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute is a Toronto-based non-profit and non-partisan research and policy institute. Our focus is on developing research and community-based policy solutions to the problems of urban health and health disparities.

Ontario

Housing and human rights in Ontario: How to fight for your rights
July 20, 2011
This video looks at human rights enforcement and provides introductory information on how to legally challenge housing discrimination in Ontario.

Human Rights and Housing in Ontario
July 20, 2011
This video has information on Ontario's Human Rights Code and how it applies to rental housing. It looks at what housing discrimination is, who is protected by the Code, and what rental practices are illegal.

Source:
CLEONet - Information to help you understand and exercise your legal rights in Ontario
CLEONet is a web site of legal information for community workers and advocates who work with low-income and disadvantaged communities. CLEONet has resources, news, events, and webinars produced by community organizations and legal clinics across Ontario. CLEONet is a project of CLEO and is funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE - well worth a visit!

Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO)
CLEO is a community legal clinic, founded in 1974, that specializes in public legal education. CLEO is administered by a volunteer board of directors, and funded by Legal Aid Ontario and the Department of Justice Canada. Staff include lawyers, editors and support staff. Most of our publications are written for people with low incomes, and other disadvantaged groups, including immigrants and refugees, seniors, women and injured workers.

* CLEONet Services Map - find key legal and social services in your community [Ontario only]
* Resources - Legal information from community organizations across Ontario
* News & Events - Latest news and events about legal issues and law reform
* Webinars - Online public legal education workshops
Resources by legal topic:
* Abuse and Family Violence * Aboriginal Law * Consumer Law * Criminal Law * Education Law * Employment and Work * Environmental Law * Family Law * Health and Disability * Housing Law * Human Rights * Immigration and Refugee Law * Legal System * Social Assistance and Pensions * Wills and Estates

Ontarians need a housing benefit (PDF - 156K, 1 page)
June 15, 2011
Media release
TORONTO – Despite an improving economy, people visiting food banks in the Greater Toronto Area are still struggling. The Hunger Snapshot report, released today, shows that food bank clients spend 72 per cent of their income on housing costs. When families are struggling to make ends meet and have to make a choice between paying the rent and putting food on the table, it is usually food that is sacrificed.

Housing Benefit --- find out more about the proposed Ontario Housing Benefit and how you can help make it a reality.

Hunger Snapshot:
Fighting Hunger (PDF - 1.3MB, 6 pages)
2011 Profile of Hunger in the Greater Toronto Area
June 15, 2011
This snapshot here is just that – some statistical highlights from the 2011 survey to provide you with a brief picture of poverty and hunger in the GTA. This year, we will be releasing the full report on the results of the survey on September 21, 2011 at the launch of Daily Bread’s Fall Drive.
[ Publications - links to earlier Toronto hunger reports back to 2005 ]

Source:
Daily Bread Food Bank (Toronto)

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Rental Assistance in New York City :
A Cautionary Tale for Canada?

From the
New York Times:

Clock Ticks for a Key Homeless Program
By Mosi Secret
May 31, 2011
With New York City’s shelter population near all-time highs, the Bloomberg administration is on the verge of ending its signature housing program for homeless families, saying the program’s generosity might have contributed to the problem. The program, called Advantage, started in 2007 and offers subsidies for up to two years to help people in shelters afford their own apartments, provided they work or take part in job training. But several months ago, the administration warned that if the state followed through with its plan to stop its financial support, the city could not afford to maintain the program and would cut off aid even to those already participating. After those warnings, the number of applicants to enter shelters dropped by 17 percent, evidence, the city said, that the program might have enticed some people to leave their homes for the promise of the subsidy.
[ Readers' Comments (78)]

Related link from
the City Of New York:

Advantage
[see note below]
Advantage is a rental subsidy that helps clients transition from temporary, emergency shelter to self-sufficiency as quickly as possible, instilling responsibility through its firm linkage to employment. Effective August 1, 2010, this new program has been revised from our previous Advantage subsidy to promote employment and foster self-sufficiency, so that households can return to independent living.
Advantage:
* Helps pay for one or two years of rent support to eligible households
* Requires participants to work and contribute:
--- 30 percent of their gross monthly income toward rent in the first year
--- 40 percent of their gross monthly income in the second year, if they qualify.

NOTE : When I checked the Advantage website home page on June 1, 2011, I read the following statement:

"DUE TO THE STATE'S WITHDRAWAL OF STATE AND FEDERAL FUNDING FOR THE ADVANTAGE PROGRAM, THE SUBSIDY IS NO LONGER AVAILABLE. DHS WILL NO LONGER BE SIGNING NEW ADVANTAGE LEASES AND WILL NO LONGER PROVIDE RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR EXISTING CLIENTS AS OF APRIL 1ST."

Source:
New York City
Department of Homeless Services

New from the
National Housing Research Committee
(Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation):

Spring 2011 NHRC Newsletter (PDF - 1.6MB, 20 pages)
[ Version française - PDF ]
Table of contents:
* Encouraging Private Developers to Get Involved in Affordable Housing
* Trends in Housing Conditions for Immigrant Households
* Housing Conditions of Inuit Households
* An Aging Population Challenges the Quebec Housing Market
* A Survey of Housing Co-ops in Canada
* Seniors' Housing Conditions Improve
* TAFETA Opens a Door to Independent Living
* Housing for People with Intellectual Disabilities in Quebec
* Tenants' Experiences in the Regent Park Redevelopment
* A Revolving Door of Homelessness and Incarceration
* Homelessness Among Federal Ex-Offenders in Saskatchewan
* Networking Alberta Research on Homelessness
* Leveraging Information to Serve the Homeless in Calgary
* Heat Recovery Ventilators and Air Quality in Nunavut
* Improving and Showcasing Environmental Performance at the Community Level
* EQuilibriumTM Housing Forums
* Developing Standards for On-Site Reuse of Wastewate

NHRC Newsletter Archive - links to newsletters back to 2005
[ Version française de l'archive des bulletins précédents ]

Source:
National Housing Research Committee (NHRC)
[ Version française ]
Since 1986, the NHRC has brought together representatives from all levels of government, social housing organizations and the housing industry as well as academics and consumers to pursue four objectives:
- Identifying priority areas for housing-related research and demonstration
- Encouraging cooperation and partnership in research without duplication of effort
- Fostering broader support for housing research
- Promoting the dissemination, application and adoption of research results

Also from NHRC:

National Housing Research Committee Meeting : Spring 2011 Session
[ Version française ]
The Spring 2011 Session of the National Housing Research Committee was held from May 2-4, 2011 in Toronto. The National Housing Research Committee meeting continues to be Canada’s premier venue for presenting our nation’s leading housing research and provides a great networking opportunity for housing researchers and policy makers.

NOTE: Click the link above, then select a working group in the left margin to access all meeting documents (in PDF format).
Working Groups are: * Distinct Needs * Housing Data * Homelessness * Sustainable Housing and Communities
Also includes a link to the Full Committee meeting documents and Previous Meetings.
Don't miss the webcasts and the PowerPoint slides!

Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
[ Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement ]

IMPACT Newsletter - Spring 2011 issue (PDF - 1.6MB, 14 pages)
Table of contents:
* At Home / Chez Soi : Une étude pancanadienne sur l’itinérance et la santé mentale (available in French only)
* International Program for Development Evaluation Training : Summary of Evaluation of Program Impact
* Associations Among Child Care, Family, and Behavior Outcomes in a Nation Wide Sample of Pre-school-Aged Children
* Delivering Information on Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) to Families Across Canada
* A profile of Dr. Jill Chouinard
*The Differentiated Instruction Professional Learning Strategy comes to the Centre for Research on Educational & Community Services!
* Transitional Rehabilitation Housing
* Les dernières nouvelles et événements/ Recent News and Events
* Événements à venir/Upcoming Events
Source:
IMPACT Newsletter - includes links to 16 issues of IMPACT going back to 2001
[ Centre for Research on Educational & Community Services : The Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services (CRECS) collaborates in research, evaluation, and training with organizations in the educational, social service, and health sectors to improve social programs and policies for citizens, especially those facing social exclusion. ]
[ Co-sponsoring CRECS faculties : Social Sciences --- Education ]
[ University of Ottawa ]

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation:
Register Now for Live Web Casts of the Spring 2011
session of the National Housing Research Committee (NHRC)

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NOTA: Pour voir les liens ci-dessous en français,
rendez-vous au site du Comité national de recherche sur le logement (CNRL)
de la Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement.
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April 19, 2011
Invitation to register for live webcasts:
Meetings of the
National Housing Research Committee
(Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation)
May 3-4, 2011
You are cordially invited to register for the webcasts of the Spring 2011 session of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's National Housing Research Committee (NHRC), which will be broadcast on the Internet from Tuesday, May 3 to Wednesday, May 4, 2011 in both official languages. The NHRC session continues to be Canada’s premier venue to keep abreast of our nation's most recent housing research.
Detailed agenda for the Working Group meetings - including five Full Committee presentations of interest (1- Homelessness, 2 - Sustainable Housing and Communities, 3- Distinct Needs , and 4- Housing Data)

Working Group Agendas (small PDF files)
Click the word "REGISTRATION" to access the electronic form

Please register in advance online. Soon.

Archives - If you are unable to join the webcast, you can view the digital video recordings of the meetings later by accessing the archives.

Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
[ Société canadienne d'hypothèques et de logement ]

Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan–Dec 2010
NOTE : The above link takes you to the home page of the Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa, where you'll currently find a summary of the report findings and links to the news release and the report itself; the content of the home page will eventually change when a new report is uploaded to their site.

Ottawa community still not on target to end homelessness
in 10 years says The Alliance to End Homelessness (PDF - 393K, 3 pages)
News Release
April 11, 2011
[ Version française ]
“Despite some progress in creating additional affordable housing units last year, the Ottawa community faced challenges in meeting the 2010 targets we set to end
homelessness by 2020,” says Marion Wright, Chair of the Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH). Last year the Alliance to End Homelessness set strong annual targets to end homelessness within the next decade, particularly for the development of new affordable housing units.
- includes detailed highlights from the report card.
Selected highlights:
* the Report Card gave Ottawa its first "F" grade for housing affordability
* a single person on Ontario Works would need 121% of the income rate set by the provincial government to rent a bachelor apartment (...) For a single person on Ontario Disability Support Program benefits, that bachelor apartment eats up 69% of their income.
* the average stay in shelters for families with children was 72 days; there were 1,408 homeless children last year
* Ottawa families are now spending more than two months in emergency shelter before finding housing.
- also included in the report:
* Specific messages for politicians and voters at the national, provincial and municipal levels
* Calgary’s Plan to End Homelessness and how its approach could work in Ottawa.
* Canada’s “hidden health emergency” – Canadians who are “vulnerably housed” face the same severe health problems as people who are homeless
* Deprivation “hot spots” in Ottawa and neighbourhood initiatives aimed at improving the situation
* New housing that works

Complete report (PDF - 5.6MB, 16 pages)
[ Version française ]
Table of contents:
1. On target to end homelessness?
2. How we see it
3. Parliament and housing
4. Queen’s Park, housing and homelessness
5. In the City of Ottawa
6. A portrait of shelter use in Ottawa
7. Calgary’s Plan to End Homelessness
8. Data: perspective, housing & affordability
9. Data: shelter use, length of stay plus 7-Year Trend
10. What is Canada’s hidden emergency?
11. Deprivation in Ottawa. Try Ontario’s Deprivation Index
12. Deprived, not hopeless – neighbourhood perspective
13. Place matters: photovoice in Ottawa
14. / 15. New housing in 2010!
16. Psst…Can I ask you a favour?

[ homelessness reports cards for previous years (2004-2009) ]

Source:
Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa
The Alliance to End Homelessness (ATEH) in Ottawa envisions an inclusive community that takes responsibility for ensuring every resident has an appropriate home. Our non-partisan coalition is committed to working collaboratively to end homelessness.
- incl. links to : What's New * About the Alliance * About Homelessness * Action Centre * Events * Report Card on Homelessness in Ottawa * Ottawa Service Inventory for Agencies

Related link:

Homelessness alliance likes city’s budget:
$14M will make difference, group says
By Tom Spears
April 11, 2011
The Alliance to End Homelessness has been doing an annual report card for Ottawa for years, but chair Marion Wright says this year is different: “a time of hope.” With one F and no mark above C+, this year’s report card doesn’t look so good on the surface. There has been one solid gain, though, Wright said Monday in presenting the report: Ottawa had 334 new units of affordable housing in 2010, far better than the 88 units added a year earlier. Her target remains 1,000 new units a year. The big news, she said, is in the city’s new budget, which promises $10 million in new investment to fight homelessness and poverty plus a further $4 million in capital funding.
Source:
Ottawa Citizen

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- Go to the Ontario Municipal and Non-Governmental Sites (A-C) page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk2.htm

Winnipeg Street Health Report 2011 (PDF - 4.6MB, 48 pages)
By Suzanne Gessler and Christina Maes
Released April 5, 2011
The Winnipeg Street Health Report presents the results of a survey on the health status of homeless people in Winnipeg conducted in the summer of 2010. The report provides an analysis of survey participants’ responses, seeking to help build an overview of homelessness in Winnipeg and contributing to an understanding of the daily living conditions of people experiencing this devastating social problem. The fndings focus on the physical and mental health status of homeless people, how they use health care and social services, and their experiences of accessing these systems. (...) The Winnipeg Street Health Report has been modeled on similar reports conducted in other major Canadian cities. The ability to compare and contrast the Winnipeg fndings with other jurisdictions can contribute to our further understanding of homelessness in general and in particular contexts.
Source:
Main Street Project - Supporting individuals in need since 1972
The Main Street Project has been serving the needs of Winnipeg's most vulnerable residents since 1972. By providing emergency shelter and food services, a drug and alcohol detoxification unit, on-site counseling, transitional housing, and a range of other critical services, we work to support our clients' basic needs, while ensuring their opportunity to make real choices and have meaningful progress, each and every day

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CBC coverage:

Study highlights lives of Winnipeg homeless
60 per cent of Winnipeg's homeless are aboriginal, report states
April 5, 2011
The report took a survey of 300 homeless Winnipeggers. The stark day-to-day realities of hundreds of Winnipeg’s homeless have been documented in an in-depth study highlighting its many causes. The Winnipeg Street Health Report also looks at ways of preventing homelessness.
Source:
CBC News

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From the
Winnipeg Free Press:

Unique report outlines perils of living on street
April 6, 2011
One out of every five homeless women said she's been sexually assaulted in the past year, according to a first-of-its-kind report looking into the lives of 300 of Winnipeg's homeless people. The Winnipeg Street Health Report, which was released Tuesday, contains insight based on interviews with 90 homeless women and 210 men. Interviews for the 48-page report took place last summer, after researchers contacted people through the city's social-service organizations. The study explores different problems homeless people deal with on a daily basis, from bedbugs in shelters to difficulties for some women to afford sanitary pads and tampons.

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Homeless persons point way
Editorial
April 6, 2011
A Winnipeg survey billed as the first specifically designed for the homeless reveals that emergency shelters are used sporadically. The city's reliance on charity-based shelters means the root of the problem goes unaddressed.
The Winnipeg Street Health Report, conducted for the Main Street Project, makes a strong case for a new strategy -- public investment in a "housing first" model used in other jurisdictions. In a pilot project, the concept saw 78 homeless Winnipeggers with identified mental illnesses set up in supported, stable housing in December.
The idea is to deal first with the dysfunction bred by homelessness so that underlying causes can be addressed amid stability

Source:
Winnipeg Free Press

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- Go to the Manitoba Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/mbkmrk.htm

At Home/Chez Soi
[ Version française du site ]
The At Home/Chez Soi research demonstration project is investigating mental health and homelessness in five Canadian cities: Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg and Vancouver. A total of 2285 homeless people living with a mental illness will participate. 1,325 people from that group will be given a place to live, and will be offered services to assist them over the course of the initiative. The remaining participants will receive the regular services that are currently available in their cities. As of February, 2011 - over 1,600 people have become project participants, and over 700 now have homes. The overall goal is to provide evidence about what services and systems could best help people who are living with a mental illness and are homeless. At the same time, the project will provide meaningful and practical support for hundreds of vulnerable people.

What's happening in each of the five participating cities?

Moncton: one of Canada’s fastest growing cities, with a shortage of services for Anglophones and Francophones.

Montreal: different mental health services provided to homeless people in Quebec.

Toronto: ethno-cultural diversity including new immigrants who are non-English speaking.

Winnipeg: urban Aboriginal population.

Vancouver: people who struggle with substance abuse and addictions.

Source:
Mental Health Commission of Canada

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Related links:

What? Another study?
Study on homeless unlikely to tell us anything we don't know
By Kelly Egan
March 11, 2011
(...) OK. See if we get this straight. One group of homeless will be given permanent homes, help with social and health problems, support with daily living. The other group will not be given homes and will have to navigate the patchwork of services available, which are obviously inadequate or they wouldn't be sleeping in shelters or cardboard hotels. For $110 million, we want to know "which approach works best." Well, call me Einstein, but I'm going with Door No. 1...
Source:
Ottawa Citizen

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Facing facts about poverty
Editoria
March 7, 2011
Poverty is not a choice. In fact, a deeply-ingrained sense of hopelessness, of a continuing lack of choices, is both a result and a cause of the continuing cycle that traps about three million Canadians – about one of every nine of us. Being poor is miserable. It is demoralizing, unhealthy, stigmatizing and stressful. It is frustrating and it is discouraging. No one in poverty – or, crucially, the professionals who work to combat poverty – see being poor as a “holiday” from personal responsibility or from work. And yet a survey commissioned by the Salvation Army, as part of its new Dignity Project initiative, shows that half or nearly half of Canadians believe that if people really want to work, they can always find a job; that a family of four can “get by” on $10,000 to $30,000 a year; that people who live in poverty in Canada “still have it pretty good.” One out of every four Canadians blames poverty on laziness and low moral values.
(...)
Reducing poverty is not going to happen by trying to change the people who are poor. It is going to happen when we all fully understand the benefits not just to society but to our economy by removing roadblocks, shattering the stereotypes, allowing people to build on assistance without penalizing them immediately for it. There are success stories in Hamilton’s poorest neighbourhoods, where innovative programs are focusing not just on employment skills but on self-confidence, self-education, physical and mental health. What the Salvation Army initiative does is try to make Canadians recognize the realities of poverty; that clarity could lead to better understanding of what is needed to reduce it.
Source:
Hamilton Spectator

The 2010 Whitehorse Housing Adequacy Study (PDF - 611K, 88 pages) was designed to address a long-standing need for statistical information on homelessness and housing challenges in the Whitehorse area. While it is not intended to be representative of the whole Whitehorse population, it provides a snapshot of a vulnerable sub-population during a specific time period. (...) The survey was created by the Department of Health and Social Services in partnership with the Yukon Bureau of Statistics and the Yukon Anti-Poverty Coalition. (...)

Dimensions of Social Inclusion and Social Exclusion in Yukon 2010 (PDF - 1.3MB, 216 pages) is a rich compilation of data using social indicators such as personal and community assets, access to necessities and participation in society. These documents are the foundation that will provide the information and evidence needed to develop the strategy.

Source:
Yukon Health and Social Services

Homeless in the Homeland:A Growing Problem For Indigenous People in Canada's North
November 2010
By Frances Abele, Nick Falvo and Arlene Haché*
Today, homelessness and inadequate housing in northern Canada disproportionately afflicts Indigenous people. This is a striking fact in a region where Indigenous people lived very independently (though of course not autarkicly) until the second half of the twentieth century. In the years since then both economic development and state initiatives have transformed their lives.
Source:
Parity Magazine : November 2010 "Homelessness and Dispossession" Edition
Parity is the national homelessness publication of the Council to Homeless Persons in Australia
[ * Frances Abele is professor of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University, Ottawa. Nick Falvo is a doctoral candidate in the same program. Arlene Haché is executive director of the Yellowknife Women’s Society.

[ More recent articles from Parity ]
[ Back issues of Parity - back to 1998 ]

Council to Homeless Persons (Australia)
Established in 1972, the Council to Homeless Persons is the peak Victorian body representing individuals and organisations with a stake or interest in homelessness.

2010 Canadian Housing Observer
The Canadian Housing Observer presents a detailed annual review of housing conditions and trends in Canada and of the key factors behind them. It is an ideal resource for housing planners; researchers; policy makers; home builders; mortgage and real estate professionals; and municipal, provincial/territorial, and federal housing specialists. The annual Housing Observer report examines the state of Canada's housing from a variety of perspectives, combining national coverage with provincial/territorial and metropolitan detail. The report discusses influences on housing demand, current market developments, housing finance, housing affordability, and other topics.
- includes links to individual chapters in PDF format:
* Overview
* Canadian Housing at a Glance — Dashboard (graphics)
* Housing and the Economy
* Housing Finance
* Current Market Developments
* Demographic and Socio-economic Influences on Housing Demand
* Recent Trends in Housing Affordability and Core Housing Need
* An Exploration of Alternative Measures of Housing Need
* The EQuilibrium™ Initiatives

Download a free PDF copy
of the full 2010 Canadian Housing Observer
- includes a link to the French version

[ previous editions of the Canadian Housing Observer - 2003-2009 ]

Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

Related link:

Commentary by Nick Falvo on the
2010 Canadian Housing Observer
December 11, 2010
(...) In 2006, just under 13 percent of Canadian households were considered to be in “core housing need” (which usually means that they are paying more than 30 percent of gross monthly income on housing). But the figure for Nunavut was just over 37 percent, by far the highest of any province or territory. And just over 20 percent of Aboriginal households across Canada are in core housing need.
Source:
Relentlessly Progressive Economics Blog
[ Progressive Economics Forum ]
Economic policy-making and economics instruction in Canada have both increasingly come to reflect a conservative, free-market perspective. There is an urgent need to promote an alternative, progressive economics community in Canada.Over 125 progressive economists—working in universities, the labour movement, and activist research organizations—have joined forces to make our collective, critical perspective heard. We have formed the Progressive Economics Forum. [ About PEF ]

Ontario

McGuinty Government Releases [Affordable Housing] Long-Term Strategy
November 29, 2010
Families in need of affordable housing will soon have access to a more flexible, coordinated and supportive system that is focused on people first. Ontario's Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy will address the unique needs of individuals and communities by building a strong foundation that is based on four key pillars: putting people first, creating strong partnerships, supporting affordable options and accountability.

Ontario's Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Document
Safe and affordable housing is fundamental for Ontarians striving to build a strong future for their families and their communities.
HTML version - 20 pages of text all on one long page
PDF version (1MB, 20 pages) more printer-friendly

Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy
Building Foundations: Building Futures
The Ontario government’s long-term housing strategy makes it easier for Ontario families to find and maintain affordable housing.
- Click the above link to access the following:
* What people are saying about Building Foundations: Building Futures
* Ontario's Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy: An Overview
* Local Plans and Accountability
* Consolidating Housing and Homeless Programs
* Simplifying Rent-Geared-To-Income Rules
* Frequently Asked Questions:
- What Does the Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy Mean to:
---------- Ontario Families and Individuals?
---------- Municipalities and Service Managers?
----------Non-Profit and Co-operative Housing Providers?
Source:
Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing

----------------------

Related links:

From Michael Shapcott in
the Wellesley Institute Blog:

Scaffolding up, but lots of work still needed before Ontario finishes building its housing plan
November 29, 2010
The Ontario government has put up the scaffolding for a long-term affordable housing strategy, but there’s plenty of unfinished business for Queen’s Park as it seeks to build a truly comprehensive plan to ensure everyone has access to a healthy, affordable home. There are no targets, timelines and no new housing investments. After six months of consultations, more than 1,000 detailed submissions and a year of writing, Ontario housing minister Rick Bartolucci released the much-needed and long-overdue plan earlier today.

The Wellesley Institute’s backgrounder (PDF - 235K, 6 pages) provides details of what’s in, and what’s missing, from today’s announcement, and it also includes an assessment of how the draft plan measures up to the five tests set by the Housing Network of Ontario.

Housing Checklist – How does Ontario’s Long Term Housing Strategy measure up?
November 29, 2010
As the provincial government releases their plan for affordable housing, we thought it might be helpful to share a checklist to track whether or not the Long Term Affordable Housing Strategy measures up.

Source:
The Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity building, and the informing of public policy.

---

From
stableandaffordable.com:

Ontario's proposed affordable housing plan fails to meet five basic tests set by Housing Network of Ontario
November 30
The Ontario government released its much anticipated Long-term Affordable Housing Strategy today, but the document failed to provide a plan that meets all five basic tests set out by the Housing Network of Ontario and its almost 500 supporters across the province.

stableandaffordable.com
... is an initiative of the Wellesley Institute and many partners across Ontario. Here, you’ll find plenty of facts and figures about housing in Ontario, along with stories from people around the province, and tips for actions that you can take to ensure everyone in Ontario has a stable and affordable home.

---

From the
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA):

ONPHA Comments on Housing Strategy
Strategy recognizes importance of community-based housing for Ontario’s future (PDF - 111K, 2 pages)
Hamilton, ON
November 29, 2010
The Province released it's [sic] highly anticipated Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy today accompanied by housing and community sector stakeholders, including the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA).

Source:
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
For over 20 years, ONPHA has been the voice of non-profit housing in Ontario. ONPHA unites over 760 non-profit organizations providing housing in 220 communities across Ontario. Our members include municipal and private non-profits of all sizes, with all types of funding. ONPHA is the recognized voice of Ontario's non-profit housing at the municipal, provincial and federal levels

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From the
Toronto Star:

Ontario housing strategy: Won’t reduce long wait lists
November 30 2010
Claiming it needed “the time to get it right,” the Liberal government at Queen’s Park long delayed releasing a long-term affordable housing strategy. That’s what makes what was released Monday – three years after it was first promised in the 2007 election campaign – all the more disappointing.The housing strategy is little more than a series of regulatory changes that reduce red tape, simplify convoluted rules and provide municipalities more flexibility to cater to local needs.
(...)
One change (calculating income annually, instead of monthly) will be helpful to low-income households lucky enough to already live in subsidized housing and to raise their income levels through paid work. Under the new rules, their rent would not go up for a year. The strategy is called “Building Foundations: Building Futures,” but it does not propose actually building any new housing. Nor does it fund any new rent subsidies to help people afford existing apartments. That means it does next to nothing for the 142,000 low-income families in Ontario on waiting lists of up to 20 years for subsidized housing.
Source:
Toronto Star

- Go to the Ontario Government Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/onbkmrk.htm

Bad housing as unhealthy as no housing: study
400,000 live in housing that is unsafe, crowded or costs more than 50% of income
November 19, 2010
People living in extremely poor housing conditions face the same health risks as those who are homeless, a study by researchers at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital suggests. The report, Housing Vulnerability and Health: Canada's Hidden Emergency, revealed that for every person in Canada who is homeless, another 23 live in housing that is unsafe, crowded or costs more than 50 per cent of their income.
Source:
CBC News

Complete report:

Housing Vulnerability and Health: Canada's Hidden Emergency
A report on the REACH3 Health and Housing in Transition study (PDF - 355K, 12 pages)
November 2010

Key findings: People who don’t have a healthy place to live - regardless of whether they’re vulnerably housed or homeless - are at high risk of serious physical and mental health problems and major problems accessing the health care they need. Many end up hospitalized or in the emergency department. 40 per cent of people who don’t have a healthy place to live have been assaulted at least once in the past year, and one in three have trouble getting enough to eat.

Key recommendations: We’re calling for the federal government to respond by setting national housing standards that ensure universal, timely access to healthy (i.e. decent, stable, and affordable) housing.

Research Team:
Research Alliance for Canadian Homelessness, Housing, and Health (REACH3)

Source:
Keenan Research Centre
[ St. Michael's Hospital ]

Canada inching closer to national housing plan as Commons’ vote looms
November 12, 2010
Canada is inching closer to a long overdue and much-needed national affordable housing plan. Bill C-304, draft legislation to create a national plan that was proposed by Libby Davies, MP for Vancouver East, is back for the second round of debate on third reading on Nov. 18. Then the Commons is scheduled to vote on Nov. 24. The Wellesley Institute’s Precarious Housing in Canada 2010 sets out the need, and the framework, for a national housing plan. At second reading, the national housing bill passed on a vote of 148 to 137, including support from the NDP, Liberals and Bloc Quebecois. The Bloc is seeking another amendment to the bill, so the vote on Nov. 24 will likely be to send C-304 back to committee, and then do a quick turn-around and back onto the floor of the Commons for a final vote. Advocates hope that the bill will get third and final reading vote before the House rises for the holidays on Dec. 17.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]
The Wellesley Institute is a Toronto-based non-profit and non-partisan research and policy institute. Our focus is on developing research and community-based policy solutions to the problems of urban health and health disparities.

Housing Again Bulletin - November 2010 issue
A monthly electronic bulletin highlighting what people are doing to put housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and around the world.
Feature:
* The Road to a National Housing Plan
Community Spotlight:
* Ottawa Youth Services Bureau : Supporting Youth in Making Positive Lifestyle Decisions
News Briefs:
* More Supportive Housing Choices for Youth in NL
* Niagara Releases New Report on Youth Homelessness
* Corporate Canada Continues to Invest in Solutions to Youth Homelessness
[ Sign up to receive this bulletin by email ]
Source:
Raising the Roof
Raising the Roof is Canada's only national charity dedicated to long-term solutions to homelessness. We work nationally, regionally and locally to bring about lasting solutions to homelessness

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Shared Learnings on Homelessness
Developed by Raising the Roof, this site makes practical tools and information accessible to the frontline staff, managers and volunteers within the hundreds of organizations across Canada working to address the problem of homelessness in their communities

News for October, 2010
A monthly electronic bulletin from Shared Learnings highlighting what people are doing to put housing back on the public agenda across Canada.
Current articles include:
Feature: October Days of Action in Support of Affordable Housing
Community Spotlight: Second Base Youth Shelter Runner Up for Eva’s Innovation Award Applications Available for 2011
Newsbriefs: Federal Housing Funds Confirmed Until 2014
Street-Involved Youth Vulnerable to Criminal Victimization
[ Sign up to receive this bulletin by email ]
NOTE : In the right-hand margin of the October bulletin, you'll find links to monthly bulletins back to September 2002

Homelessness Conference : The Road Home (Edmonton, November 15-17, 2010)
The Seven Cities of Alberta are hosting The Road Home conference on homelessness at the Ramada Inn and Conference Centre (11834 Kingsway Ave) in Edmonton, Alberta. The conference will feature presentations and panel discussions with experts working to end homelessness, and in related services.

During the morning of November 17, delegates will discuss the idea of a national housing plan, and whether Canada needs a national organization, or voice, on homelessness.

Conference Registration

Conference Agenda:
HTML version
PDF version (PDF - 173K, 16 pages)

Source:
Homeward Trust Edmonton
Homeward Trust is a community-based, comprehensive housing organization that provides leadership and resources towards ending homelessness in Edmonton.

Related link:

Alberta’s Seven Cities Partnership (PDF - 74K, 5 pages)
By Scott Cameron and Anne Makhoul
March 2009
Since forming in 2001, Alberta’s Seven Cities partnership has created a solid base of relationships, produced evidence for change, identified causes and solutions to the problem of homelessness, and influenced policies and practices across government departments and jurisdictions
Source:
Caledon Institute of Social Policy

2011 budget can accomplish more for housing without increasing spending
Media release
October 25, 2010 (Ottawa) – The federal government can make better use of taxpayers’ dollars in the 2011 budget without increasing spending by adopting practical policy measures to address the lack of affordable housing options for low-income Canadians in housing need, said Nicholas Gazzard, Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada).
Source:
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada)
CHF Canada is the national voice of the Canadian co-operative housing movement. Its members include over 900 non-profit housing co-operatives and other organizations across Canada. More than a quarter of a million Canadians live in housing co-ops, in every province and territory.

October 21, 2010
Great news: National housing act bill (C-304) moves big step closer to law
By Michael Shapcott
Great news!
Third reading debate on Bill C-304 - draft legislation to create a national housing plan for Canada – started on Wednesday evening in Parliament, and three of the four political parties in the Commons have pledged their support. Vancouver East MP Libby Davies, sponsor of the bill, told her fellow MPs: “This bill is very straightforward and clear. It calls on the federal government, in partnership with the provinces, the territories, first nations, municipalities and stakeholders, to develop a strategy that could take us forward and move us into a situation where we have a real plan with objectives, targets, outcomes, and deliverables. That is why so many people have signed on in support of this bill.”
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog

Related link:

October 14, 2010
A Message from
Rob Rainer, Executive Director
CWP Advocacy Network:

SUBJECT:
Oct 19: Canada Day of Action for a Federal Housing Strategy; Oct 20 'fireside chat' on a federal housing strategy

1) From the east to west coasts, Red Tents will be popping open on October 19th for the Red Tent Canada Day of Action for a Federal Housing Strategy. This Day of Action takes place one day before scheduled debate, at Third Reading in the House of Commons, of Bill C-304 (An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians). The Day of Action calls for full parliamentary support of the Bill which, if passed into law, would mandate the federal government to develop a national housing strategy, in consultation with key stakeholders and appropriately rooted in a human rights framework.

The CWP Advocacy Network supports the Red Tents Campaign and, with partners such as Pivot Legal Society, ACORN CANADA , the Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness and Front d’action populaire en réaménagement urbain , is co-organizing the Day of Action in Ottawa on October 19th. Solidarity actions are being held in Halifax (Oct 16), London, Toronto, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Edmonton, Surrey, Vancouver and Victoria – with Red Tents on hand to demand full parliamentary support (House and Senate) for Bill C-304.

The Day of Action in Ottawa will include a 9:30am press conference on Parliament Hill, followed by a rally on the Hill at 10:00am and additional rally at the Human Rights Monument (Elgin and Lisgar). Volunteers are needed to help with the opening and carrying of 100 Red Tents – for a striking visual representation of the homelessness crisis in Canada, a crisis literally at the doorstep of our parliamentarians. Those in the Ottawa area who can help with the rally – please contact our office (613-789-0115) or info@cwp-csp.ca

2) On October 20, 1:00-2:00pm Eastern, the Population Health Improvement Research Network at the University of Ottawa is holding a cross-Canada “fireside chat” on a federal housing strategy. “Fireside Chats are pan-Canadian discussions via telephone/Internet for population health professionals - and stakeholders.” Wednesday’s chat will feature several housing experts including Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute.
To register, go to http://www.chnet-works.ca/

3) Precarious Housing in Canada (2010) is a powerful, new research and policy report from the Wellesley Institute. Using the most comprehensive and current data, research and analysis, Precarious Housing sets out a pragmatic, five-point plan targeted to the millions of Canadians who are living in substandard, over-crowded and unaffordable homes – plus those who are living without any housing at all. Housing is one of the most important factors for a healthy life.

Source:
CWP Advocacy Network
[ Canada Without Poverty - CWP ]

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is Canada’s national housing agency. Established as a government-owned corporation in 1946 to address Canada’s post-war housing shortage, the agency has grown into a major national institution. CMHC is Canada’s premier provider of mortgage loan insurance, mortgage-backed securities, housing policy and programs, and housing research

Site map - on one page, everything that's on this enormous website...

Canada's Economic Action Plan 2009:
Housing Support for Canadians and Communities
Canada's Economic Action Plan 2009 announced a number of housing-related measures which are being delivered through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. These measures are intended to create employment through timely and targeted investments to build new and renovate existing social housing, and fund housing-related infrastructure.
* Helping Municipalities Build Stronger Communities
* Support for Seniors, Persons With Disabilities, and Northern Housing
* Renovation and Retrofit of Existing Social Housing Administered by CMHC
* On-Reserve Housing

CMHC Research Report Listings by Subject
- links to PDF files consisting of collections of reports that you can order from CMHC organized by subject, including Affordable Housing - Cooperative Housing - Healthy Housing - Homeless - Housing and Women - Housing for Older Canadians - Housing for Persons with Disabilities - Housing Rehabilitation - Self-Help Housing - Social Housing - more...
NOTE: the PDF files don't open if you're using Firefox v.1.0.7 <Boo, CMHC.> - try good ole Internet Explorer, if you must.

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agreements on Affordable Housing

Housing in Canada Online
"...an interactive resource presenting an overview of CMHC's data on housing conditions and core housing need for 2006, 2001, 1996 and 1991."

CMHC for Consumers --- incl. links to : Buying a Home * Mortgage Loan Insurance * Renting a Home * Maintaining a Home * Renovating a Home * Programs & Financial Assistance (residential rehabilitation, emergency repair, home adaptation for seniors, etc.)

CMHC for Housing Industry Professionals and Community Groups --- CMHC contributes to the well-being of the housing sector by offering : Best practices in housing construction and design * Housing market trends and demographics * A wide variety of programs & financial assistance * Affordable housing strategies.

CMHC for Housing Finance Clients and International Clients --- CMHC is your proven business partner and strives to provide our housing finance clients with : Innovative mortgage loan insurance products & services * Effective default management and claims payment * Offering housing solutions to help countries around the world build better housing systems * Assisting Canadian companies to export goods and services.

Aboriginal --- Browse by Topic : On-Reserve, Off-Reserve and Northern Housing

***********************************************************************

Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI)
Under the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI), the federal government, through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, provides contributions to increase the supply of off- reserve affordable housing, in partnership with provinces and territories. In September 2008, the Government of Canada announced $1.9 billion, over five years, for housing and homelessness programs for low-income Canadians. As part of this investment, the AHI was extended for two years, until March 31, 2011. This investment builds on the $1 billion funding commitment under Phase I and II of the initiative. Canada’s Economic Action Plan provides a further one-time investment of $1.525 billion in housing stimulus measures to build new and renovate existing social housing. This funding is being delivered through amendments to existing cost-sharing and delivery arrangements with provinces and territories through the AHI.

* Affordable Housing Initiative — Background
Through the AHI, the federal government, through CMHC, provides contributions to increase the supply of off- reserve affordable housing, in partnership with provinces and territories.

* National AHI Funding Table
Funding allocations and commitments (dollars and number of units) made under the AHI, updated quarterly.

* CMHC News Releases on Official AHI Project Openings
Search CMHC News Releases on official AHI project openings through a new, user friendly search tool.

* Provincial and Territorial Links
Links to provincial and territorial housing authorities

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Government of Canada Moves to Protect, Strengthen Canadian Housing Market
News Release
July 9, 2008
The Government of Canada today announced adjustments to the rules for government guaranteed mortgages aimed at protecting and strengthening the Canadian housing market. The new measures include:
* Fixing the maximum amortization period for new government-backed mortgages to 35 years;
* Requiring a minimum down payment of five per cent for new government-backed mortgages;
* Establishing a consistent minimum credit score requirement; and
* Introducing new loan documentation standards.

Related document:

Backgrounder

Source:
Department of Finance Canada

CitizenSHIFT
"We are an independent, socially active, and nationally representative web magazine, that gives activists, organizations, and socially conscious media producers a forum for watching, listening, reading, and interacting with the issues that Canadians are dealing with, that may not have representation in the mainstream media. Our mission is to give a place for the voices of those that are less heard, or ignored, who do not have the chance to represent themselves in the media. CitizenSHIFT is a valuable tool for organizations and individuals to have their issues talked about, and utilizing all the forums that multimedia interaction can offer.
Our content is dictated by the submissions that we receive, but there are often shared themes between groups and media makers. Currently we are showcasing different activist artists’ work and perspectives on poverty and homelessness in the different chapters of the web magazine. In the chapter, REEL COMMUNITY – the film and its filmmakers of “Hide and Go Homeless” are featured, telling their rigorous journey to get their film finished against all odds. In REBELS WITH A CAUSE – CitizenSHIFT features Craig Chivers, a photosensitive artist whose activism through photography is showcased, along with interviews with Craig."
Source:
National Film Board

Women Need Safe, Stable, Affordable Housing: A study of social, private and co-op housing in Winnipeg
By M. McCracken and G. Watson
February 2004
"(...) The housing crisis in Canada has been linked to the federal government's withdrawal from housing in the 1990s. The proportion of female-headed renter households paying 30% or more of their household income on housing increased from 38% to 47% between 1980 and 1995, and female-headed households comprise 45% of Canadian households with core housing need. As a result of the withdrawal of federal funding, there has been no expansion of social housing in Manitoba and a decrease in the total number of low-income rental units. (...) As a response to the housing shortage, the federal government became involved in housing again in 2003. The federal and provincial governments developed the Affordable Housing initiative (AHI). They have earmarked $50 million dollars for housing programs in Manitoba; the City of Winnipeg has put forward $17.5 million dollars.
Executive Summary
Complete report (PDF file - 840K, 50 pages)

Source:
Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence

Rallies across Quebec call for more federal funding for homeless
By Jan Ravensbergen
September 10, 2010
Advocacy groups rallied in five locations across Quebec yesterday to punctuate a push to more than double annual federal funding to combat homelessness in the province. Ottawa should boost the allocation of federal cash for such housing and other assistance to more than $50 million a year, Benoit Poirier, coordinator of the Reseau Solidarite Itinerance du Quebec, said after 300 boisterous demonstrators issued the Montreal component of the message outside federal offices in the downtown Guy Favreau Complex. (...) The most recent Quebec census of the homeless -conducted 13 years ago, in 1997 -pegged the figure for Montreal and Quebec City at 28,000 in total.

Source:
Montreal Gazette

Related link:

Homelessness resources in Quebec - from Homeless Nation [ "... the only website in the world created by and for the street community." ]

Related links:

PovNet
PovNet provides online tools that facilitate communication, community and access to information around poverty-related issues in British Columbia and Canada. We work to collect relevant news and resources of use to advocates, community workers, marginalized communities and the general public.

---------------------------

Report Highlights Urgent Affordable Housing Need
Ontario needs bold strategy to help households in need
Ontario Region media release
May 31, 2010
(Toronto) While the economic situation in Ontario may be improving, low and modest income households across the province still struggle to access the most crucial and basic aspect of economic and personal success – a safe and affordable home. The 2010 edition of Where’s Home? authored by the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Ontario Region (CHF Canada's Ontario Region), analyzes 22 separate housing markets across Ontario and highlights the urgent need for more affordable rental housing.

Complete report:

Where’s HOME : A study of affordable rental
housing within 22 communities in Ontario (PDF - 2MB, 69 pages)
May 2010
Source:
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
For over 20 years, ONPHA has been the voice of non-profit housing in Ontario. ONPHA unites over 760 non-profit organizations providing housing in 220 communities across Ontario. Our members include municipal and private non-profits of all sizes, with all types of funding.

See also:

Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada Ontario Region

Seventeen Years Without a Housing Program
Much like the Stanley Cup, Canada hasn't had a federal housing program since 1993 – but we still have hope.
By Emily Paradis, Research Manager at the
University of Toronto Cities Centre
May 31, 2010
(...) In May 1993, while so many of us were cheering our winning team [the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup], Canadian human rights advocates were bringing information about Canada’s housing cuts to a United Nations review of Canada’s compliance with the UN Convention on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. The Committee reviewing Canada stated in its final report, "Given the evidence of homelessness and inadequate living conditions, the Committee is surprised that expenditures on social housing are as low as 1.3 per cent of government expenditures."
(...) [Since 1993] Successive federal governments have failed to implement a national housing strategy, leaving Canada the only nation in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development without one. The proportion of federal monies spent on housing is still less than two per cent. And UN committees continue to express grave concerns about poverty and homelessness in Canada. (...) By a momentous coincidence, spring 2010 is witness to the two most important legal initiatives* to eliminate homelessness that Canada has seen since the 1980s when the homelessness crisis began.
(...)
The success of either, or both, of these initiatives would usher in a new era in Canada, in which federal and provincial governments would be compelled both to alter the policies that cause homelessness and to implement policies to prevent it. (...) We’ve got to keep the faith and insist that Canada can come back, restore our common values, and maybe even – dare we hope? – establish a program to eliminate homelessness in Canada, after 17 long years.

[*The two initiatives are Bill C-304, an act to implement a national housing strategy, and the constitutional challenge on homelessness that was launched May 26 at Ontario Superior Court in Toronto. Click the above link for the complete article. You'll also find more related links if you keep scrolling down the page you're now reading.]

Source:
The Mark
The Mark is a national movement to record Canadian ideas and propel the people behind them. It is a collection of thoughts and a tool for facilitating interdisciplinary dialogue and debate between outstanding Canadians.

Toronto homeless launch charter challenge:
Say federal and Ontario governments violate their rights to equality
May 27, 2010
Single mother Jennifer Tanudjaja’s two-bedroom apartment near Kipling and Finch Aves. costs $997 a month. But her monthly welfare cheque is just $935. (...) Brian Dubourdieu, 48, who became homeless after a cancer diagnosis five years ago, lived in a shack by the Don River for four years until it burned down last spring. (...) Tanudjaja and Dubourdieu are among four homeless and formerly homeless Torontonians who say Ottawa and Queen’s Park are violating the Canadian Charter of Rights by “creating and maintaining conditions that lead to and sustain homelessness and inadequate housing.” (...) Ontario is expected to release its affordable housing strategy next month
Source:
The Toronto Star

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Charter Challenge: the right to housing in Canada
May 26, 2010
Today, formerly and currently homeless Ontarians launched a landmark legal challenge against the federal and provincial governments. Joined by housing advocates and their lawyers, the individuals are seeking a Court declaration that Canada and Ontario have violated their rights under section 7 and section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms by creating and maintaining conditions that lead to and sustain homelessness and inadequate housing.
Source:
Right to Housing

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Government has human rights obligation
to end homelessness argues historic Charter challenge
News Release
May 26
Source
Canada Newswire

Related links:

The Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
ACTO works to better the housing situation of Ontario residents who have low incomes including tenants, co-op members and people who are homeless
[ See ACTO's Law Reform and Advocacy resources page ]

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Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA)
CERA is an Ontario-based non-profit human rights organization that promotes human rights in housing and challenges discrimination. CERA works to remove the barriers that keep disadvantaged individuals and families from accessing and retaining the housing they need.
[ CERA Resources page ]

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Stableandaffordable.com
Stableandaffordable.com is an initiative of the Wellesley Institute and the Housing Network of Ontario.
We are a network of organizations dedicated to one goal: stable and affordable housing for all Canadians.

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Charter Challenge
Government Obligated To End Homelessness
Source:
Black Hat Media
Black Hat Media is a solo attempt at an on-line magazine. Black Hat Media will combine two elements that are rarely (if ever) dealt with in the same forum effectively - advocacy and arts/entertainment. The founder, writer, photographer, editor, and publisher of Black Hat Media has a unique perspective with both elements of this e-zine.

Report: Three Million Canadians Have Feared or Experienced Homelessness
– Salvation Army study shows increase in demand for social services
News Release
Toronto, ON, May 3, 2010 – A new report shows that approximately three million people – one in nine Canadian adults – have either worried about or personally experienced homelessness. This report, released by The Salvation Army indicates that demand for social services are on the rise. At the same time, the public perceives homelessness and poverty as two of the nation’s most critical social problems. The report is being released today to kickoff The Salvation Army’s National Red Shield Campaign, a month-long effort that seeks to educate the public about the cycle of poverty in Canada and raise funds to help combat the problem.

Poverty shouldn’t be a life sentence : A report on
the perceptions of homelessness and poverty in Canada (PDF - 3MB, 8 pages)
May 2010
Currently, one in nine Canadians have either experienced or come close to experiencing homelessness, and a majority of the public thinks homelessness rates are increasing, which is consistent with what The Salvation Army is seeing nationally. At the same time, homelessness and poverty remain at the forefront of the public’s mind. Both the problem of poverty and the issue of homelessness were cited as leading social concerns across the country. Additionally, the public recognizes that a variety of factors contribute to homelessness.

We asked Canadians how poverty
and homelessness affects them (YouTube video testimonials)
May 02, 2010
This year, The Salvation Army is releasing data to illustrate the publics perception on homelessness and poverty. By releasing this data, our goal is to illustrate the realities, and lay to rest some commonly-held misconceptions, about homelessness and poverty. Ultimately, we hope this information will help the public understand why extreme homelessness and poverty persist.

Source:
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is an international Christian organization that began its work in Canada in 1882 and has grown to become the largest non-governmental direct provider of social services in the country. The Salvation Army gives hope and support to vulnerable people today and everyday in 400 communities across Canada and 117 countries around the world

Related link:

Canadian homelessness report:
Are you living paycheque to paycheque?
May 3, 2010
One in nine Canadians has been or come close to being homeless, a study released by the Salvation Army suggests. Levels were highest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where 20 per cent of respondents said they had experienced or come close to experiencing homelessness, among those aged 45 to 55 years (16 per cent) and among those with income levels under $40,000 a year (20 per cent), the report said.
Source:
CBC

Green Homes, Out of the Box
Shipping containers revolutionized the global economy, making trade possible on a scale never before seen. Now, these big steel boxes hold the potential to revolutionize urban living and design. In this series, The Tyee reports on how these containers are being refashioned into affordable, green buildings in Europe and Asia and examines how they could be used to solve North America's housing problems as well.
Three-part series:
[Click the link above toaccess the individual articles.]
* Green and Affordable Homes, Out of the Box - 12 Apr 2010
* Is this Canada's Most Affordable Green Home? - 13 April 2010
* Homeless Housing For Less - 14 April 2010
Source:
The Tyee

Mental Health Commission of Canada Launches National Research Project to Find Sustainable Solutions for
People With Mental Health Issues Who Are Homeless : Study will investigate ‘Housing First’ approach (PDF - 139K, 2 pages)
News Release
TORONTO, November 23, 2009 – The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) has implemented a ground-breaking national research project in five cities to find the best way to provide housing and services to people who are living with mental illness and homelessness. Using a ‘Housing First’ approach, the research project focuses on first providing people who are homeless with a place to live, and then the other assistance and services they require. The goal is to see if this approach is better than traditional ‘care as usual.’
Source:
Mental Health Commission of Canada
The Mental Health Commission of Canada is a non-profit organization created to focus national attention on mental health issues and to work to improve the health and social outcomes of people living with mental illness.

Related links:

Mentally ill get housing in study
565 Toronto homeless will enrol in research
November 23, 2009
The largest project in Canada's history to study the link between mental illness and homelessness kicks off Monday, offering hope – and a home – to more than 1,300 street people across the country. Housing first, rehabilitation will follow – that's the philosophy behind a national research project on homelessness and mental illness being launched by the new Mental Health Commission of Canada. (...) Altogether, 1,325 people will be given a place to live and social services during the study, which is to get $110 million in funding over the next five years. Participants are expected to contribute 30 per cent of their income, including welfare and disability payments. Canada has an estimated 300,000 homeless people. (...) The program is modelled after the successful Pathways to Housing Project, which was founded in New York City in 1992 and has since spread out to 40 cities worldwide.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Pathways to Housing - U.S.
Pathways to Housing was founded by Dr. Sam Tsemberis in 1992, and is widely credited as being the originator of the "Housing First" model of addressing homelessness among people with psychiatric disabilities. The Housing First model is simple: provide housing first, and then combine that housing with supportive treatment services in the areas of mental and physical health, substance abuse, education, and employment.

November 5, 2009
Mortality among residents of shelters, rooming houses, and hotels in Canada
Living in shelters, rooming houses, and hotels is associated with much higher mortality than expected on the basis of low income alone, according to this 11 year follow-up study from Canada. Reducing the excessively high rates of premature mortality in this population would require interventions to address deaths related to smoking, alcohol, and drugs, and mental disorders and suicide, among other causes, say the authors.

Mortality among residents of shelters,
rooming houses, and hotels in Canada: 11 year follow-up study
Published 26 October 2009
By Stephen W. Hwang et al.
Highlights (including results and conclusions)
Complete study (PDF - 143K, 9 pages)

Source:
British Medical Journal

Related link:

Homeless have a much shorter life expectancy, study suggests
10 years of research suggest poverty not only factor in premature deaths
October 26, 2009
By Sheryl Ubelacker
Canadians living in homeless shelters and rooming houses have a much shorter life expectancy than the general population — and poverty is not the only factor contributing to their premature deaths, researchers conclude. In a 10-year study, researchers found the chance of surviving to age 75 among the homeless or inadequately housed is 32 per cent for men and 60 per cent for women, compared to 51 per cent and 72 per cent respectively for the lowest income group in Canada's population. (...) The study, published online Monday by the British Medical Journal, looked at 1991 census data on 15,100 people of varying ages across Canada, who reported being homeless or living in rooming houses or hotels.
Source:
The Globe and Mail

Homelessness in Canada: New (free) e-book
June 18, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Finding Home is a new (free) e-book on homelessness in Canada with 29 chapters (so far) on justice, Aboriginal people, immigrants and refugees, women, children and youth, health, and – of course – housing. A section on housing rights is being planned. The e-book includes summaries of recently completed research reports as well as the best and most policy-relevant published articles from scholarly journals. The chapters have been edited to keep them at a length of 3,000 to 9,000 words and to ensure that they are accessible to a non-specialist audience. Each chapter is a separate dowloadable PDF. The e-book is organized into themes that represent specific groups of homeless people and issues that intersect with homelessness, along with a section on research issues. The book is designed to grow over time as new chapters are added. The book is published on the Homeless Hub.
Reviewed by:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

The Book:

Finding Home: Policy Options for Addressing Homelessness in Canada
"...an easily accessible collection of the best Canadian research and policy analysis on homelessness. The e-book will be permanently available on the Homeless Hub. The e-book includes summaries of recently completed research reports as well as the best and most policy-relevant published articles from scholarly journals. The chapters have been edited to keep them at a length of 3,000 to 9,000 words and to ensure that they are accessible to a non-specialist audience. Each chapter is a separate dowloadable PDF. The e-book is organized into themes that represent specific groups of homeless people and issues that intersect with homelessness, along with a section on research issues. The book is designed to grow over time as new chapters are added. This e-book project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
NOTE : scroll down past the intro for links to all 29 PDF files

Source (of the e-book):
Homeless Hub
Building on the success of the Canadian Conference on Homelessness (2005), the Homeless Hub was created to address the need for a single place to find homelessness information from across Canada. Launched in 2007, the Homeless Hub is a web-based research library and information center representing an innovative step forward in the use of technology to enhance knowledge mobilization and networking.
- incl. links to : Library - Topics - Education - Experiences - Gallery - Doing Research - Events - Networks - People

Homeless Hub Topics
(Click on topics to see sub-topics)
* Homelessness * Housing * Health * Mental Health * Substance Use & Addiction * Income, Employment & Education * Legal & Justice Issues * Population

Related links:

Canadian Homelessness Research Network
The Canadian Homelessness Research Network (CHRN) is dedicated to helping end homelessness by improving the impact of homelessness research on policy and practice.
- incl. links to :
* About CHRN * Objectives * Partners * Grants * Contact Us * Homeless Hub

At last, province getting message on housing
July 3, 2009
By Carol Goar
The consultations began without fanfare. That is a good sign. For the past six years, Premier Dalton McGuinty has set ambitious housing targets and missed them; announced promising programs and underfunded them; talked big and delivered little. This time, the government is building the housing plank of its poverty reduction strategy quietly and co-operatively.
Source:
Toronto Star

Federal program aims to get mentally ill off streets
August 25, 2009
About 300 homeless people in Montreal will be picked to take part in a new federal housing project.About 300 homeless people in Montreal will be picked to take part in a new federal housing project. (CBC)Hundreds of homeless people with mental illness in five cities across Canada will take part in an ambitious federal housing experiment this fall that researchers say could become a new model for helping the down and out. The experiment – created by the Canadian Commission on Mental Health – will provide subsidized apartments and intensive psychological and social support to more than 1,000 homeless people in Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Moncton. The $150-million program will track participants' progress for four years and compare it to people who remain on the streets. Researchers hope that by offering furnished housing and social support, homeless people living with mental illness will be able to reintegrate into society.
Source:
CBC News

No Way Home
March 2004
While youth homelessness is not a new phenomenon, it has become more severe in Canada over the past two decades.
- incl. links to :
* Who are homeless youth? * Life on the street * The hazards of homelessness * The causes of homelessness * The cost of homelessness
Source:
CBC News - Fifth Estate

Consolidated government investments in housing up across Canada
June 16, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Governments at the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal levels across Canada increased investments in housing by 10.4% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009, as compared to the previous fiscal year, according to new figures released today by Statistics Canada as part of their government revenues and expenditures database. This brings consolidated government investments in housing to almost 1% of overall government spending – about the same level as the early 1990s before a massive round of federal and provincial spending cuts and downloading decimated most housing programs and triggered a nation-wide affordable housing crisis and homelessness disaster
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

From the "Dog Bites Man" news department:

High rent, low income driving homelessness: researcher
April 11, 2009
By Shannon Proudfoot
Homelessness initiatives in Canada that focus on the "usual culprits" of mental illness, family breakdown, addiction, crime and violence are missing the biggest causes, says a Canadian economist. Krishna Pendakur, an economics professor at B.C.'s Simon Fraser University, says the main reasons people end up on the streets are straightforward but often overlooked: low income and high rents. "Those other things -- mental illness, crime, marital breakdown, drugs, crime -- all matter, but they matter a lot more if you're poor and you live in a place that has high rents,"he says.
Source:
The Financial Post

CITY OF OTTAWA

Leadership Table on Homelessness launches 10-year plan, announces placement of 100 people in first year
May 22, 2009
Ottawa – This morning, the Leadership Table on Homelessness (LTH) announced that, through the support of the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing and the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, 100 chronically homeless people in our community will be placed in supportive housing within the next few weeks. The LTH also released Destination: Home, a plan for our community to address and eliminate chronic homelessness
[ The Leadership Table on Homelessness (LTH) consists of business leaders, government officials, community agencies and members of the faith community, who have come together to implement a plan to end chronic homelessness in Ottawa. The LTH is a community-wide initiative, supported by United Way/Centraide Ottawa and the City of Ottawa. ]
Source:
United Way of Ottawa

Complete report (10-year plan):

Destination: Home
Leadership Table on Homelessness
Ending Chronic Homelessness in Ottawa:
Our Vision, Our Plan (PDF - 1.2MB, 13 pages)
May 2009
Core Strategies:
1. HOUSING FIRST
Provide a permanent, stable home for every chronically homeless person.
2. SUPPORT SERVICES
Provide each chronically homeless person with the support services he or she needs in order to remain housed and off the streets.
3. ENGAGEMENT
Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in helping us provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless

Related links:

City to spend $1M a year to help 100 homeless get off streets
May 22, 2009
The City of Ottawa announced Friday that it's taking a million-dollar step toward ending chronic homelessness in the city. With the help of Leadership Table on Homelessness, the group of business leaders and government officials that made the announcement Friday, the city said it hopes to help 100 chronically homeless people a year. The city said it has committed $1 million a year to provide support for the 100 homeless who will soon be given homes.
Source:
CBC

Report urges housing for chronically homeless
Saving on services will bring benefits to us all in the long run, group says
May 22, 2009
OTTAWA - The squalid, shadowy side of Fat City came sharply into focus Friday with the release of a compelling report on how to end chronic homelessness in Ottawa within 10 years. The report, titled "Destination: Home," noted that more than 1,400 people in Ottawa are categorized as "chronically homeless," defined as those who spend more than 60 cumulative nights a year on the streets or in shelters.
Source:
The Ottawa Citizen

Related Toronto Links:

Homelessness, Program Responses,
and an Assessment of Toronto’s Streets to Homes Program (PDF - 224K, 49 pages)
February 2009
By Nick Falvo
The emergent Housing First model, focused on new means of rapid rehousing of the homeless, is popular in North America among policy-makers and the mass media. Yet little has been written on the Housing First model’s transferability to Canadian municipalities. This report begins by discussing the Housing First model as it has evolved in the United States context. Turning to the main focus of this research, the paper then documents, analyzes and interprets Canada’s version of Housing First, Toronto’s Streets to Homes (S2H) program, based on primary and secondary research including semi-structured key informant interviews. The report concludes with recommendations about how to both improve S2H and ensure that Housing First programs in other Canadian cities are effective in housing homeless persons.
Source:
Canadian Policy Research Networks

The “Housing First” Model: Immediate Access to
Permanent Housing (PDF - 121K, 4 pages)
Nick Falvo
[ version française - PDF ]

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From Homeless to Home Project
Click the link above for five ways to learn from people who have been homeless in Ottawa and became housed again.
The project brings to life the findings from the Panel Study on Homelessness in Ottawa (see links below)

1. Interviews:
Eleven people share their experience of homelessness in brief 4-5 minute audio-visual interviews.

2. Booklet with Research Highlights
Easy to read highlights help get the word out on how community organizations, governments and people in the community can work together to end homelessness.

3. A Documentary Film : From Homeless to Home
By filmmaker Jason Gondziola

4. Radio Show
A two-part radio documentary about homelessness in Ottawa on CHUO by Heather Gilberds, Communication Studies at Carleton University.

5. Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, Jan-Dec 2007
Eight of the people interviewed below are also in the Housing WORKS section in the 2007 Report Card, talking about how they found a place to live after being homeless

Related links:

Panel Study on Persons Who Are Homeless in Ottawa:

Phase 2 Results Final Report (PDF - 473K, 67 pages)
By Tim Aubry, Ph.D., Fran Klodawsky, Ph.D., Rebecca Nemiroff, B.A., Sarah Birnie, B.A. & Cristina Bonetta, M.A.
March 2007

Phase 1 Results Final Report (PDF - 378K, 51 pages)
By Tim Aubry, Ph.D., Fran Klodawsky, Ph.D., Rebecca Nemiroff, B.A., Sarah Birnie, B.A. & Cristina Bonetta, M.A.
December 2003 - Revised to November 2006

[ more homelessness reports from the
Alliance to end Homelessness in Ottawa ]

Source:
Alliance to End Homelessness in Ottawa

British Columbia:

BC Social housing reality check:
Ministry’s own service plans show few net new units since 2006
News Release
September 13, 2010
(Vancouver) A new report shows that despite some positive recent developments on rental assistance and homelessness, BC’s progress in building new social housing units has been minimal. Unpacking the Housing Numbers: How Much New Social Housing is BC Building? is being released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Social Planning and Research Council of BC. The authors conducted a detailed examination of BC Housing’s service plans for 2006 to 2011. (...) In fact, the government’s own data indicate an overall net increase of only 280 new housing units over the past five years, a sobering and concerning finding.

Complete report:

Unpacking the Housing Numbers:
How Much New Social Housing is BC Building? (PDF File, 559K, 12 pages)

Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives is an independent, non-partisan research institute concerned with issues of social, economic and environmental justice. Founded in 1980, the CCPA is one of Canada’s leading progressive voices in public policy debates.

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Homelessness : Clear Focus Needed (PDF - 3MB, 44 pages)
March 2009
"(...) Given the complexity of the issue, reducing and preventing homelessness requires all levels of government to form a clear focus, a long-term commitment, and a coordinated effort.(...) We recommend that government develop a comprehensive plan to address homelessness."
Source:
Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia

Related links:

BC auditor confirms that province's homeless programs "not successful"
March 6, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
John Doyle, the British Columbia auditor, has just released a sobering review of homelessness programs that concludes that the provincial government “has not been successful in reducing homelessness. Clear goals and objectives for homelessness and adequate accountability for results remain outstanding. Government also lacks adequate information about the homeless and about the services already available to them — this hampers effective decision making. Finally, government has not yet established appropriate indicators of success to improve public accountability for results.” The auditor’s report echoes many of the themes raised by the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing in the final report on his fact-finding mission to Canada (See the links immediately below), which will be tabled at the UN Human Rights Council on Monday. The auditor calls for a much more thorough and pragmatic plan to end homelessness in British Columbia, and notes that many other jurisdictions have already adopted solid plans.
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

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The stench of vanishing money:
How Downtown Eastside welfare fraud adds to the area's misery and squalor
By Ethan Baron
March 6, 2009
"(...) More than 7,000 of the Downtown Eastside's 16,000 residents are on welfare, many living in the 3,500 single-room-occupancy (SRO) rooms owned by private landlords. These SROs are in effect government-subsidized housing, with profits going in many cases — and I'm not pointing a finger at the Brandiz, revolting as it is — to some landlords and managers who scam tenants out of their welfare money.
Source:
The Province
[Comment : curious, isn't it, how this headline leads one to believe that the article might be about welfare fraud, when in reality the fraud is perpetrated by unscrupulous private landlords ripping off welfare clients. Curious.]

See also:
Operation Phoenix : a year-long project by The Province, CKNW 980 and Global B.C.
We hope to engage the community in seeking solutions to the issues facing our most vulnerable citizens in the Downtown Eastside.
[ more about Operation Phoenix ]

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Housing bill of rights introduced in Canadian Parliament
February 11, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Just days after Canada was criticized at the United Nations' Human Rights Council in Geneva for failing to meet its international housing obligations, a new National Housing Bill of Rights has been introduced in Canada's House of Commons by MP Libby Davies (NDP - Vancouver East). Bill C-304 , a Private Member's Bill, seeks to re-engage the federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments, along with the community and private sectors in a comprehensive national housing strategy. It's a powerful and comprehensive piece of legislation that would re-establish a national housing plan that Canada has lost after two decades of funding cuts, downloading and an increasingly fraying patchwork of funding and programs.

Source:
Wellesley Institute

Related link:

Bill C-304 (Libby Davies' Private Member's Bill)

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From the Wellesley Institute Blog:

Alberta announces $3.2b plan to end homelessness
March 16, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The Alberta government has today released a dramatic plan to end homelessness in 10 years by committing $1.2 billion in capital investments and $2 billion in operating funding. The plan – based on the “housing first” approach (which provides immediate housing and then offers supports as required) – will lead to the creation of 11,000 new homes by 2012, according to the provincial government. Full details, including funding and implementation lines, will be released in next month’s provincial budget.

The Alberta Plan:

A Plan For Alberta : Ending Homelessness in 10 years (PDF - 1.8MB, 48 pages)
October 2008
Prepared By:
The Alberta Secretariat
For Action On Homelessness
[ Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs ]

Related link:

Homelessness in Canada: Past, Present, Future (PDF - 101K, 13 pages)
February 18, 2009
David Hulchanski of the Cities Centre and Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto looks at the evolution of the set of social problems we now call homelessness and the efforts of governments and communities to address them.
[ Conference keynote address, Growing Home: Housing and Homelessness in Canada, University of Calgary ]
Source:
David Hulchanski
Cities Centre, University of Toronto

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Public housing investments - generating jobs and other social / economic benefits
November 11, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Canada's first ministers have had a preliminary meeting and they've agreed to work towards a massive investment in infrastructure to help respond to the current global economic crisis and also to improve bridges, transit and other necessary public works. (...) Here are five good reasons for Canada's first ministers to ramp up public investments in affordable housing as part of an overall economic stimulus package...
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through community-based research , community engagement , and the informing of public policy.

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Day of Action for a National Housing Strategy
News Release
July 10, 2008
Toronto / Ottawa / Metro Vancouver – ACORN Canada will be hosting rallies in three cities across Canada on Thursday July 10th as we release our National Report Card on the State of Affordable Housing. The report card shows how the abdication of leadership by the Federal Government over the last decade in the area of housing policy has let Canada slip below international standards and will outline the deficiencies of Canada’s failure to introduce a national strategy for housing. Canada is the only major country without a national housing strategy

Stephen Harper's Conservatives on Housing : Failing the Grade (PDF - 348K, 4 pages)
July 10, 2008 (PDF file date)
"(...)According to data compiled from the 2006 Census, an estimated 3 million Canadian households (24.9%) are spending more than 30% of their income on shelter (Statistics Canada, 2008). While some of this is undoubtedly reflective of the high rates of condominium builds and debt-driven ownership among citizens in higher income brackets, it is discouraging to note that this number also includes nearly 80% of citizens in the two lowest income quintiles. When the focus is narrowed further to include only major cities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, where the majority of the population actually resides, it is clear that low and moderate income Canadians are truly being left behind. In these cities, residents face a formidable affordability gap (household income versus market rates), and can spend more than 75% of their monthly income on rents."

Source:
ACORN Canada
ACORN is building a national movement for social and economic justice by organizing low- and moderate-income communities for power and social change; we want living wage jobs, decent affordable housing, tenant rights, ending predatory lending, opportunities for youth, voting and electoral rights. If it affects poor and working class communities, ACORN Members are organizing to win equity in Toronto and across the country. ACORN Canada is made up of more than 9,000 low- and moderate-income member families. There are more than 20 local chapters of ACORN throughout the country, organized democratically through community organizing. Our work is getting results and making change!

ACORN Canada is part of the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) (U.S., based in Chicago)
ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, working together for social justice and stronger communities.
[ ACORN reports ]
NOTE: See ACORN's Living Wage Web Site - campaign for local laws requiring city service contractors to pay a living wage. There are currently 122 local ordinances in place and more than 75 living wage campaigns underway in cities, counties, states, and college campuses across the country.

Related link:

Housing plan missing
Toronto Star Editorial
Yet another report, this one from low-income people themselves, has blasted the federal government for failing to do enough to provide affordable housing in this country. ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, gave the federal government an F in all four housing measures it analyzed in its report, released last week. They include: meeting its promises to the provinces; not committing to renewal of the three existing federal programs that include a homelessness strategy; and failing to adopt a national housing strategy.
Source:
TheStar.com

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Ottawa's Kindness Meters

Spare change, sir? Feed the meter, Ottawa mayor says
December 3, 2007
Mayor Larry O'Brien is encouraging generous Ottawa residents not to reach for their wallets as they pass the scruffy panhandlers who beg for spare change on the city's cold sidewalks. Instead, the public should save their loonies and toonies for special coin banks or "kindness meters" similar to parking meters that will be installed in the Byward Market this week
Source:
CBC

<Warning : leftie rant! >

This is wrong for so many reasons that I didn't know where to begin my rant, so I decided to spotlight yesterday's blog entry by my friend, Susan Scruton. It's a very thoughtful, articulate and compelling rebuttal of the concept of "kindness meters". Here's a summary of the reasons why the Ottawa Mayor's plan is full of baloney:
* They’re insulting to poor people.
* They attempt to dehumanize compassion.
* They could lead to an increase in crime by people with addictions.
* They introduce a layer of bureaucracy into the equation.
* There is no guarantee that the panhandlers most directly in need, like mentally ill people, will receive any help.
* They put social service agencies in direct competition with their clients for our spare change.
* How elitist of the Kindness Meters to only take loonies and toonies!
* The concept is based on hypocrisy and stinginess.
"This is the same mayor who compared homeless people to pigeons and said if we stopped feeding them, they’d go away. We know where he stands on this issue. When he tries to fake compassion he just looks like the rich, stingy hypocrite he is."

Read the complete "Kindness Meters" blog entry (December 17)
by Zoom
... and feel free to share the link to this blog with the Office of the Mayor of Ottawa: Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca

Good for you, Zoom!
Shame on you, Larry.
Maybe instead of allocating the money collected to social agencies, Kindness Meters could be used to help fund Larry's compassion transplant .

</end leftie rant>

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Chretien dodges any blame for homeless
Jean Chrétien oversaw the scrapping of the Canada Assistance Plan.
By Charlie Smith
November 29, 2007
Former prime minister Jean Chrétien doesn't think that the government he led for 10 years is responsible for Vancouver's growing homelessness problem. In a wide-ranging phone interview with the Georgia Straight to coincide with the release of his new book, My Years as Prime Minister (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, $39.95), Chrétien said that the federal government has "some limited responsibility" for homelessness.
Source:
The Georgia Strait (Vancouver)

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Thousands of homeless children losing out on education (PDF file - 208K, 1 page)
News Release
October 1, 2007
TORONTO – A groundbreaking new report shows at least 2,000 homeless children in Toronto are needlessly at risk of slipping through the cracks of the education system every year. Lost in the Shuffle, by the Community Social Planning Council of Toronto and Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre, is the first study in Canada to document the impact of homelessness on children's education in Toronto.

Complete report:

Lost in the Shuffle : The Impact of Homelessness on Children's Education in Toronto (PDF file - 5.9MB, 131 pages)
Phase 3 Report of the Kid Builders Research Project

Source:
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto
Aisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre

Related link:

Homeless kids neglected
Report says educational, emotional support lacking for students living in shelters
October 01, 2007
Every year about 3,000 school children in Toronto live in homeless shelters, says a new study to be released today. Yet despite this long-standing problem – the number of affected children has remained steady for the last five years –there are no government or school board policies to ensure the educational and emotional needs of these vulnerable children are being met, says Lost in the Shuffle, the first Canadian study on the issue.
Source:
Toronto Star

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Improving the Health of Canadians 2007-2008: Mental Health and Homelessness
The Improving the Health of Canadians: Mental Health and Homelessness report provides an overview of the latest research, surveys and policy initiatives related to mental health and homelessness and, for the first time, presents data on hospital use by homeless Canadians.
- includes links to the complete report and the media release (both of which are reproduced below) as well as links to download individual report sections, related documents and contact info if you wish to order a paper copy of the report

Complete Report:

Improving the Health of Canadians 2007-2008:
Mental Health and Homelessness (PDF file - 458K, 70 pages)
August 2007

Media Release:

Mental disorders account for more than half of hospital stays among the homeless in Canada:
New CIHI report offers overview of links between mental health, mental illness and homelessness
August 30, 2007—Mental disorders accounted for 52% of acute care hospitalizations among the homeless in 2005–2006 (outside Quebec), according to a new report released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI). In addition, the report shows that 35% of visits to selected emergency departments (EDs)—mostly in Ontario—by homeless people were related to mental and behavioural disorders, a proportion that is higher than that for other patients (3%).

Source:
Canadian Population Health Initiative
[ Canadian Institute for Health Information ]

Related links:

Homeless hospitalized more often for mental illness: study
10,000 people in Canada are homeless on any given night
August 30, 2007
Homeless people in Canada have more mental health problems than the rest of the population, leading to higher hospitalization rates, says a new report released Thursday.
Mental disorders accounted for 52 per cent of acute care hospitalizations among the homeless in 2005-2006, said the report, released Thursday by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).
Source:
CBC News

Prime Minister launches national Mental Health Commission
August 31, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the final selection of the Board of Directors for the newly created Mental Health Commission of Canada.
Source:
Office of the New Prime Minister of Canada

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"CIHI, report, mental health, homelessness"
- Web search results page
- News search results page
- Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

Homelessness 'chronic' in Canada: study
June 26, 2007
Canada's homeless population is somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 people, while another 1.7 million residents struggle with "housing affordability issues," says an analysis of the latest research on shelter. In a report released Tuesday from the Calgary-based Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership, journalist and author Gordon Laird argues homelessness is now chronic and is quickly becoming one of the country's defining social issues. He makes a case for a national housing strategy and a more robust income security program.
Source:
CBC News

Complete report:

Homelessness in a growth economy: Canada’s 21st century paradox (PDF file - 2.6MB, 98 pages)
By Gordon Laird
A Report for the Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
"Supporting a Canadawide homeless population of 150,000 people costs Canadian taxpayers between $4.5- to $6-billion each year"

Table of Contents:
– Findings & Policy Summary
– Introduction: Shelter, from Alms to Asset
– IQALUIT: Discovering Canada’s Hidden Homeless
– OTTAWA: The National Underclass
– TORONTO: Ground Zero
– CALGARY: Poverty Amid Affluence
– VANCOUVER: New Frontiers
– Conclusion: Ending the Crisis
Appendix I: The Cost of Homelessness
Appendix II: How Many Poor People?

Related link:

Sheldon Chumir Foundation for Ethics in Leadership
We work on : * Governance, rule of law, and democratic institutions * Legal ethics * Media ethics * Bio-medical and other technology issues * International affairs * Business ethics * Education and youth leadership * Human rights and civil liberties * Diversity issues * Environment and natural resources * Social justice

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Panhandling In Winnipeg: Legislation versus Support Services
by Tom Carter - Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation -
with Anita Friesen, Chesya Polevychok, John Osborne
May 2007
In June 2005, The City of Winnipeg passed an amendment to By-Law 7700/2000 prohibiting some methods of panhandling, and placing restrictions on some aspects of panhandling activity, particularly related to specific types of services or locations. This project addresses the following questions regarding the need for, and the effectiveness of, this legislation:
- Given the nature, number and activity of panhandlers in the city, is this legislation an appropriate response to the circumstances?
- Is the legislation likely to be effective? and,
- Are there more effective means of addressing the issues of panhandling? Is legislation the answer or should the focus be on services and programs to address systemic problems that lead to panhandling in the first place?

The report is available in four volumes:

(scroll to the bottom of the list of journals for a brief summary of the content of each of the four volumes whose links appear below)

Volume 1: Executive Summary (PDF file - 300K, 8 pages)
This volume presents an overview of Volume 2, 3 and 4, and summarizes the findings of the Panhandling in Winnipeg research project.

Volume 2: Literature and Legislation Review (PDF file - 598K, 55 pages)
Academic literature provides valuable insights into who panhandles and why they are on the streets of North American cities. The studies reviewed here document the increasing diversity and overall growth in the numbers of people panhandling. Negative reactions to panhandling have prompted many municipal governments to attempt to control panhandling through legislation and/or program approaches that assist panhandlers to “get off the street”. The main legislative/program approaches to addressing panhandling are reviewed here.

Volume 3: Mapping of Panhandling Activity (PDF file - 10.2MB, 76 pages)
This volume presents the results of field observation of panhandling activity in central Winnipeg. It focuses on the mapping of panhandling locations and panhandling methods, including distribution of panhandlers throughout the study area, priority or high traffic locations for panhandling activity, and proximity to “sensitive services.” The types of panhandling methods used, and the distribution and frequency of occurrences of different methods was also recorded and mapped.

Volume 4: Interviews with Panhandlers (PDF file - 403K, 83 pages)

If you have any comments or questions about the report, please direct them to Tom Carter at t.carter@uwinnipeg.ca or you may contact him by phone at (204)982-1148.

Source:
Journal articles, research reports ===> See also : * Research Highlights * Background and Resource Documents * Community Briefs
[Institute of Urban Studies (University of Winnipeg)]

Also from the Institute of Urban Studies:

Twelve recent reports on panhandling (special focus on Winnipeg)
Click the link above to access 20 reports of the Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation at the Institute of Urban Studies (University of Winnipeg).
The titles of the 12 most recent reports appear below; click the link above to access these studies and more...
* Why Panhandlers are on the Streets of North American Cities (June 2007)
* Who Panhandles in Winnipeg? (June 2007)
* Panhandling in Winnipeg Project: Mapping Methodology (June 2007)
* Location of Panhandling Activity in Winnipeg (June 2007)
* Panhandling Alone or in Groups: What is the Approach in Winnipeg? (June 2007)
* When Panhandlers are Active in Downtown Winnipeg (June 2007)
* Different Groups' Perception of Panhandling in Winnipeg (June 2007)
* Legislative Approaches to Panhandling (June 2007)
* Program Approaches to Panhandling (July 2007)
* Housing Circumstances of Panhandlers in Winnipeg (July 2007)
* Does Panhandling Provide a Living (July 2007)
* Why do Panhandlers Panhandle in Winnipeg? (September 2007)

Source:
Publications / Research Highlights
[ Journal articles, research reports ] ===> See also : Background and Resource Documents * Community Briefs
[ Canada Research Chair in Urban Change and Adaptation ]
[ Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg

The Housing Circumstances Of Recently Arrived Refugees:The Winnipeg Experience
By Dr. Tom Carter et al.
(July 2008 for Prairie Metropolis)

Housing is a central component of the settlement experience of refugees. A positive housing situation can facilitate many aspects of integration. Unaffordable, crowded, unsafe housing, however, can cause disruptions in the entire settlement process. A two-year study of recently arrived refugees in the city of Winnipeg illustrates the significant housing challenges they face. In the first year 75 households who had been in the city a year or less were interviewed. Fifty-five of these households were re-interviewed a year later. The research findings highlight the housing and neighbourhood challenges the households faced in the first year and the changes in their circumstances that had occurred by the time interviews were conducted in the second year.

Download full report (PDF - 2.3MB, 146 pages)
Research Highlights (PDF - 35K, 4 pages)

Source:
Institute of Urban Studies, University of Winnipeg

The Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity building, and the informing of public policy.

The Wellesley Institute Blog

Issue Pages: Housing and Homelessness
- incl. links to key online resources, presentations and blog entries on this issue

Selected site content:

Ontario government gives housing dollars with one hand, takes away more with the other
October 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The Ontario government is helping households across the province cope with deep and persistent housing insecurity and homelessness by making a big 7% ($52.1 million) cut to spending at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, according to the province's fall economic account. Over the past four years, MAH has seen its annual operating funding cut by $222.4 million (that's almost a quarter of a billion dollars) - adding up to a painfully deep 24% cut since fiscal 2005. Over the past four years, the cumulative spending cuts at MAH add up to $657.1 million. This is enough to finance the construction of more than 4,380 new affordable homes.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

For links to the Fall Ontario Outlook for 2009 (October 22, 2009),
go to the 2009 Canadian Government Budgets Links page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm

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Exciting news: Bill to create national housing plan passes second reading in House of Commons today
September 30, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians, just passed second reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon and is going to committee for review and possible amendment. This is exciting news – and credit both to MP Libby Davies, who sponsored the legislation, and the many housing advocates who have worked hard over the years to bring this critically important legislation forward. Three of the four political parties in the House of Commons supported the bill: NDP, Bloc and Liberals. Plus a lone Conservative, MP Peter Goldring. Private member's bills traditionally get a rough ride in Parliament, and MP Davies has introduced various versions of this legislation several times over the past decade. A rising concern across the country about deep and persistent housing insecurity, and the minority Parliament, along with strong support from housing and homelessness groups across the country, has propelled this draft legislation forward. Next step for the bill is the Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) Committee of the Commons, which will consider the draft legislation and possible amendments, before sending it back to the House of Commons for third and final reading. More details on the timeline will be posted as they are available.

Related links:

* Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians
* Libby Davies, NDP Member of Parliament for Vancouver East
* Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) Committee

Big news: Ontario inclusionary housing legislation passes second reading
September 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Inclusionary housing (and the promise of thousands of new affordable homes in new developments across the province) is one step closer in Ontario as MPP Cheri DiNovo’s Bill 198 (PDF - 326K, 5 pages) passed second reading in the Ontario Legislature this afternoon. The legislation would amend the Planning Act to give municipalities the power to require developers to include affordable housing in new developments.

$125 billion for banks; $2 billion for affordable housing
September 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Sixty-two and one-half years – that’s how long the federal government will have to spend on affordable housing, at the current rate, to equal the $125 billion “emergency” bailout package for banks and other mortgage lenders that federal finance minister James Flaherty has just extended. The profits of Canadian banks have slipped slightly from the record-breaking levels of 2005, 2006 and 2007, but the big six are still racking up billions in profits.

Not much of a national housing summit today without the feds at the table...
August 19, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The federal decision to boycott today’s national housing summit in St Johns, NL (the second time in two years that the federal housing minister has refused to meet with provincial and territorial counterparts) left the remaining summiteers without much to say or do.

Related link:

Federal government once again
boycotts critical national housing summit (PDF - 281K, 1 page)

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Home ownership still out of reach for most low, moderate income households
July 14, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Entry into home ownership markets remains out of financial reach for low, moderate and even middle-income Canadians, according to a new analysis from the Wellesley Institute. In its latest semi-annual review of ownership affordability in Canada (PDF - 255K, 9 pages), RBC Economics reports that “low mortgage rates and persisting downward pressure on housing prices will to continue to help repair affordability”. While the RBC’s affordability measure is easing somewhat, the bottom line is that most Canadians who haven’t been able to buy a home still won’t be able to afford to buy one. Two-thirds of Canadian households earn less than the qualifying income for a standard two-storey home using the RBC scale. The Wellesley Institute is preparing a comprehensive State of the Nation’s Housing report that will examine affordability in the private rental and ownership markets, along with government investments in a range of housing policies

'Unprecedented' rise in number of precariously housed Americans:
2009 State of Nation's Housing report
June 22, 2009
Lower-income Americans are especially hard-hit by current recession and there has been an "unprecedented" increase in the number of people who are precariously housed. Those are among the grim findings in the 2009 State of the Nation's Housing report that was released today in Washington DC by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and others. Some key observations: "Low income homeowners and renters are hit especially hard in the current climate... in 2007, the year for which the most recent data exists, 51% of low income renters and 43% of low income owners paid more than half their incomes for housing... altogether, 17.9 million households spent more than half of their incomes on housing, a 30% increase that is 'unprecedented'.”

Complete report:

The State of the Nation's Housing 2009
- includes links to the full report in one PDF file and a table of contents with links to individual chapters in PDF format

Executive summary (PDF - 332K, 5 pages)

Homeless in Moncton: New report card
March 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
A total of 725 people were homeless in Moncton, New Brunswick, according to the 2008 homelessness report card from the Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee. Among other items, the report notes that 30 people sleep on mats on the floor at one hostel every night, including pregnant women.

Related links:

Experiencing Homelessness
The First Report Card on Homelessness in Greater Moncton, 2008 (PDF - 723K, 6 pages)

Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee
The Greater Moncton Homelessness Steering Committee (GMHSC) is an inter-agency committee representing all agencies in Greater Moncton that work with the homeless population and those at risk of becoming homeless.

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Homeless in Halifax: New report card
March 24, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
A total of 1,252 people stayed in homeless shelters in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 2008, according to the first-ever Halifax Report Card on Homelessness 2009, which was released today. The report, prepared by Community Action on Homelessness, provides a grim accounting of the poor health and terrible conditions facing people who are homeless in a community that is, for many Canadians, a picturesque port city on Canada's eastern coast. The report documents the meagre investments in affordable homes by federal and Nova Scotia governments, and sets out a series of practical and pragmatic actions to end homelessness in Halifax.

Related links:

Halifax Report Card on Homelessness 2009 (PDF - 10MB, 20 pages)

Community Action on Homelessness (Halifax)
Our mission - to work in partnerships within our community, to advance community solutions
that address homelessness, and the right to a home as a key to the 'quality of life' for everyone in our community.

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Alberta announces $3.2b plan to end homelessness
March 16, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The Alberta government has today released a dramatic plan to end homelessness in 10 years by committing $1.2 billion in capital investments and $2 billion in operating funding. The plan – based on the “housing first” approach (which provides immediate housing and then offers supports as required) – will lead to the creation of 11,000 new homes by 2012, according to the provincial government. Full details, including funding and implementation lines, will be released in next month’s provincial budget.

The Alberta Plan:

A Plan For Alberta : Ending Homelessness in 10 years (PDF - 1.8MB, 48 pages)
October 2008
Prepared By:
The Alberta Secretariat
For Action On Homelessness
[ Alberta Housing and Urban Affairs ]

Related link:

Homelessness in Canada: Past, Present, Future (PDF - 101K, 13 pages)
February 18, 2009
David Hulchanski of the Cities Centre and Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto looks at the evolution of the set of social problems we now call homelessness and the efforts of governments and communities to address them.
[ Conference keynote address, Growing Home: Housing and Homelessness in Canada, University of Calgary ]
Source:
David Hulchanski
Cities Centre, University of Toronto

$2.075b for housing in Tuesday's federal budget???
January 25, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The federal government is busily leaking all sorts of details about Tuesday’s federal budget – a sharp departure from the usual secrecy that surrounds spending plans – and the latest “leak” from federal housing minister Diane Finley in the Sunday Toronto Star sets out $2.075 billion for housing initiatives. If the spending plans are confirmed in the budget (and it’s hard to imagine why Minister Finley would be so specific in her disclosures if she wasn’t in the know), it will mean (quoting the language in the Star):
• $1 billion to “renovate existing social housing”, including energy retrofitting;
• $600 million for on-reserve Aboriginal housing;
• $400 million for “seniors’ housing”;
• $75 million for “housing for people with disabilities”.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Related link:

Social housing to get boost
Poor, seniors and aboriginals expected to be among
the beneficiaries of more than $2 billion out of federal government's stimulus package
January 25, 2009
By Bruce Campion-Smith
OTTAWA–The federal government is poised to pump more than $2 billion into social housing nationwide – a sweeping investment aimed at helping the poor, aboriginals and seniors, the Star has learned. The spending is expected to be part of the aggressive stimulus package unveiled in Tuesday's federal budget and could provide a boost for tradespeople hit by the slowdown in the new housing market.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Three strikes and affordable housing in Canada is officially out!
June 5, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
The latest in three sets of major housing and income data over the past month (rental numbers released this morning) confirms the nation-wide affordable housing crisis is moving up the income scale from low to moderate to middle-income households. The numbers underline a deep, persistent and growing affordability gap between the rents charged in private markets (where most low, moderate and middle-income Canadians live) and renter household incomes.

Staggering one-in-four Canadian households in affordability squeeze
June 4, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
A staggering one-in-four Canadian households are in the housing affordability danger zone – paying 30% or more of their income on housing. Even more troubling, the poorest Canadian households – renters – face the worst affordability problems

Then and now - Liberal shout out on housing
May 28th, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
The Liberal caucus is once again thundering and shaking its collective fist at the Conservative government, as opposition parties are wont to do in our Parliamentary system of government. The release of the Liberal urban report, with a section on housing, earlier today raises two questions: What’s the difference between the Liberal outrage of 1990 and their outrage in 2008, and; what about the Conservatives – are the Harper Conservatives as bad for housing as the Mulroney Conservatives 18 years ago? (...) The New Democratic Party and the Parti Quebecois have been long-time and consistent advocates for increased investment and a new national housing strategy. Now, the Liberal Party has added its voice. Three of the four political parties in the Commons – a strong majority – are calling for housing action. All eyes are on the government of Stephen Harper.

National Housing Report Card 2008 (PDF - 204K, 18 pages)
Feds, most provinces fail to meet their commitment
to increase affordable housing funding by $2 billion
February 2008
[Related links]

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Related links:

Liberals Hear of Conservative Neglect of Cities
Media Releases
May 28, 2008
OTTAWA - A discussion paper released by the Urban Communities Caucus calls on the federal government to sit down with Canada's mayors and provincial politicians to solve the complex issues facing Canadian cities, said Liberal Urban Communities Caucus Chair Senator Larry Campbell.

Complete report:

Foundations for a Nation : Towards a Richer,
Greener and Fairer Canada (PDF - 828K, 30 pages)
A Discussion Paper of the Liberal Urban Communities Caucus
May 2008

Source:
Liberal Urban Communities Caucus
[ Liberal Party of Canada ]

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Federal Budget 2008:
Three Housing Questions for Finance Minister Flaherty (PDF file - 120K, 8 pages)
On Tuesday (Feb. 26), Federal Finance Minister James Flaherty will deliver the 2008 budget.
Michael Shapcott, Director of Community Engagement, reviews three key federal programs affecting housing and homelessness with a focus on key issues and solutions.

Related links : go to the Canadian Government Budgets Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/budgets.htm

Canada's home ownership markets plummet
March 14, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Home ownership in Canada is at its most unaffordable level since the "housing recession" of 1990. That's the grim news today from RBC Economics and its latest quarterly housing affordability report. Outside of Alberta, housing affordability has deteriorated in every market and for every type of housing.

Complete RBC report:

Housing Affordability:
Alberta on watch (PDF file - 475K, 8 pages)
March 2008
Source:
RBC Economics Research

Wellesley Institute's 2008 national housing report card
shows that feds, most provinces fail to meet their own funding promises
February 4, 2008
On the eve of the first provincial-territorial housing ministers' summit in almost two and one-half years, a new report card from the Wellesley Institute reveals that the federal government and eight of the thirteen provinces and territories have failed to meet the commitments they made in November of 2001 to invest an additional $2 billion in affordable homes. "The numbers underline the urgent need not only for more dollars for affordable homes," says Michael Shapcott of the Wellesley Institute.

Complete report:

National Housing Report Card 2008 (PDF file - 202K, 18 pages)
Feds, most provinces fail to meet their commitment to increase affordable housing funding by $2 billion

Related documents and links
from the National Housing Report Card 2008 main page:

Affordable housing gap tops $1 billion - from The Toronto Star

Ten Things You Should Know About Housing and Homelessness

United Nations Special Rapporteur’s preliminary observations following his recent fact-finding mission to Canada

Federation of Canadian Municipalities National Housing Action Plan

Wellesley Institute's Housing and Homelessness Issues page

University of Toronto’s Centre for Urban and Community Studies

Federal throne speech Tuesday: Three questions...
October 14, 2007
By Michael Shapcott
"(...)
Here are three key questions for the throne speech on housing and homelessness, which continue to be urgent priorities for Canadians right across the country.
ONE: Will the federal government renew and enhance housing, homelessness and rehab funding?
TWO: Will the federal government commit to funding and realistic targets for new affordable homes across Canada?
THREE: Will the federal government invest some of its multi-billion dollar surpluses in new affordable homes?

Family homelessness hits 20-year high in NYC
July 23, 2007
By Michael Shapcott
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2004 plan to cut homelessness in the Big Apple by two-thirds produced an almost immediate decline in the number of people in homeless shelters. But the latest numbers show a sharp upward spike to the highest number of homeless families in two decades. All the details are available from the NYC Department of Homeless Services and you can read more details from the New York City Coalition for the Homeless.

Talkin’ housing with the Bush man!
May 10, 2007
The charming, even charismatic, Philip Mangano - U.S. President George W. Bush’s “homeless czar” - was the keynote speaker on day one of the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association annual congress in Calgary on Thursday, and he didn’t disappoint! Of course, you’d expect that a senior political appointee for the Bush administration would be a good salesman for the policies of that government.

First peek at federal budget 2007: Disappointment!
Wellesley Institute backgrounder: A first look at the 2007 federal budget
March 19, 2007
The 2007 federal budget entirely ignores Canada’s nation-wide affordable housing crisis and homelessness disaster, and is light when it comes to other social determinants of health.
Source:

Will federal budget deliver new housing program?
Michael Shapcott
March 16, 2007
The Harper government will deliver its second federal budget on Monday, March 19, 2007. Canada is one of the richest countries in the world, and the federal government continues to run multi-billion dollar surpluses (largely because of huge spending cuts - including housing spending - in the 1980s and 1990s). The Wellesley Institute’s 2007 federal pre-budget housing backgrounder looks at some key issues.

Wellesley Institute backgrounder:
New year, new homeless funding, new minister (PDF file - 52K, 4 pages)
Time for a comprehensive, fully-funded strategy
January 8, 2007
It’s a new year and a new housing and homelessness minister for Canada! The Hon. Monte Solberg, MP for Medicine Hat, Alberta, is usually described as “affable” (he was a broadcaster before entering politics), which is a pleasant quality in any cabinet minister. But Canada, alone among the major countries in the world, has no national housing program. And, even with an emerging patchwork of funding in recent years, housing funding is lower in 2006 than in 1993.

Seven Solutions to Homelessness
Each is working somewhere else, and will save money and lives here
January, 9 2007
Idea One: Trade Fairs for the Homeless
Idea Two: Raise the Welfare Rates
Idea Three: Train Young Workers
Idea Four: Spread the Love Around
Idea Five: Buy a Few Hotels
Idea Six: Give Addicts Time to Heal
Idea Seven: Bring Governments Together
- includes links to six more related articles that appeared in the Tyee during 2006 (scroll down to the bottom of the "Seven Solutions" article)

Source:
The Tyee (independent alternative daily newspaper in BC)

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Commons’ finance committee calls for housing, homelessness action
December 13, 2006
By: Michael Shapcott
On December 7, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance released its its pre-budget report for 2006 entitled Canada: Competing to Win. [See the links to that report below] Michael Shapcott appeared before the committee earlier in the fall as an expert witness on housing and homelessness on behalf of the Wellesley Institute. On the Wellesley Institute Blog, Michael has posted a brief analysis of the references to and recommendations concerning housing and homelessness in that report. (...) The committee has accepted the key messages from housing and homelessness advocates (that the federal homelessness and housing rehab programs should be extended and that the federal, provincial and territorial governments need to develop a national housing strategy) in their recommendations. (...) There is also a fairly extensive commentary section on housing.
[Michael Shapcott is Senior Fellow in Residence (Public Policy) at the Wellesley Institute and a recognized expert on homelessness and housing.

Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]
"The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity building, and the informing of public policy."

Justice and Injustice :
Homelessness, Crime, Victimization, and the Criminal Justice System (PDF file - 3MB, 200 pages)
Sylvia Novac, Joe Hermer, Emily Paradis, and Amber Kellen
Research Paper
Centre for Urban and Community Studies, University of Toronto
with the John Howard Society of Toronto
November 2006
[NOTE: the main focus of this study is Toronto, but you'll find other Canadian and international content there also...]

Summary of Selected Report Highlights (PDF file - 36K, 8 pages)
PDF file dated April 24, 2006

Source:
Centre for Urban and Community Studies (University of Toronto)
John Howard Society of Toronto

World Habitat Day 2006 - October 2
http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=490
The United Nations has designated the first Monday in October every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of human settlements and the basic right to adequate shelter for all. It is also intended to remind the world of its collective responsibility for the future of the human habitat.
Source:
UN Human Settlements Program
http://www.unhabitat.org

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World Habitat Day - The UN Condemns Canada’s Failure to Provide Adequate Housing
http://www.torontotenants.org/habitat-day.htm
Source:
Metro Tenants' Associations
http://www.torontotenants.org/

Beyond the Street Conference:
Youth Taking Action on Homelessness in Canada
September 26-29, 2006
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Beyond the Street: Youth & Communities Taking Action on Homelessness was Canada ’s first national conference focusing on youth and homelessness. The conference welcomed close to 250 delegates from all over the country and its activities highlighted existing challenges and emerging trends in youth homelessness and showcased successful Canadian efforts to address them By harnessing the creative energy and ideas of youth, homelessness organizations, and their partners, Beyond the Street brought together key stakeholders to help build the foundation for ongoing national, regional, and local action to respond to homelessness in Canada.

Final report
January 2007
PDF version, no appendices(PDF file - 770K, 29 pages)
PDF version with appendices (PDF File - 7.8MB, 94 pages)

Conference Program (PDF file - 549K, 14 pages)

Raising the Roof (RTR)
"Raising the Roof is the only national charity in Canada dedicated to finding long-term solutions to homelessness"
Here are but a few samples of the comprehensive up-to-date information on homelessness  you'll find on this site :

Shared Learnings on Homelessness
"Practical tools, resources and information sharing for frontline staff, managers and volunteers working to address the problem of homelessness in their communities. Use this site to find out about initiatives in cities, towns and rural areas across Canada. Link to others working within the homelessness sector, share your experiences and learn from theirs."

The Hidden Homeless - Homelessness Public Education Campaigns
"Four out of five homeless Canadians don't live on the street. They live in cars. They find temporary beds in church basements or abandoned buildings. They sleep on somebody's couch. They are seniors on fixed incomes. They are adults with full-time jobs. Many are children. Most often, because we don't see them on the street, they're out of sight and out of mind. Raising the Roof, Canada's national charity dedicated to preventing and reducing homelessness, believes that everyone needs a place to call home."

Online Resources and Links on Homelessness - links to resources related to homelessness prevention practices, factsheets and From Street to Stability, a compilation of findings on the paths to homelessness and its prevention and a library of print and Internet resources.

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Raising the Roof's Toque Tuesday Campaign
February 7, 2006
"Hats off.... It's Toque Time!
Raising the Roof's Toque Tuesday Campaign is a national campaign that gives people from all walks of life the chance to raise funds, raise fun and raise awareness in the fight against homelessness in Canada.
Warm your head and your heart! Buy your special Raising The Roof toque in exchange for a minimum $10 donation to support programs and initiatives which help make a difference in the lives of thousands of men, women and children who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Then, proudly wear your toque on Toque Tuesday - February 7th, 2006 - to show your commitment to preventing and eliminating homelessness.
Buy your toque at any Home Depot store in Canada."
- you can also go to the Raising the Roof website to order a toque online or to find the campaign coordinator in your region.
Source:
Raising the Roof
"Raising the Roof is the only national charity in Canada dedicated to finding long-term solutions to homelessness"

Related Links:

The Hidden Homeless - includes 10 Facts about the Hidden Homeless - 10 Things You Can Do to Help - Learn More about Raising the Roof - Radio/TV/print ads
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC)
- TDRC Links to housing and homelessness resources - 50+ links to Canadian, American and international resources
Housing Again - "a site dedicated to putting affordable housing back on the public agenda"

Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (Toronto)
The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) provides advice and representation to individuals and groups facing discrimination in housing. CERA co-ordinates the work of the Charter Committee on Poverty Issues (CCPI) in advancing test case litigation dealing with poverty issues in Canada.

 

Canadian Housing Equality Resources This website is produced by the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA), an Ontario-based non profit human rights organization that has spent the past 20 years challenging the systemic barriers and discrimination that contribute to homelessness and housing insecurity. - incl. links to : Advocate's Guide - Human Rights - Tools - Legislation - Case Law - Other Resources Related link: Housing rights: A Canadian web site August 7, 2007 The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) has launched a new web site devoted to housing rights in Canada called Canadian Housing Equality Resources. It's full of interesting and important information, and is designed for everyone from the person (or household) that is experiencing housing discrimination to the housing advocate. Lawyers and legal advocates will find information on legislation and case law. And there are lots of practical tools, like dealing with the media. CERA has been active for two decades on housing issues and is recognized locally, nationally and internationally as an important partner. Source of this brief review: Michael Shapcott The Wellesley Institute Blog [ The Wellesley Institute ]

Street Level Consulting --- "Healing - Empowering - Informing"
"A national forum for issues of homelessness and poverty in Canada"
- incl. links to : About Us (Self Help Resources, Announcements & Upcoming Events, Contact Us) - Tales from the Turf (Stories of Redemption in the innercity) - Rare Treasures (Prose, poems and works of art by our friends) - Bible Studies (Studies on poverty, justice and mercy) - Biographies (Saints past/present) - Books (Recommended books and videos) - Meditations (St. Francis, Mother Theresa, Jean Vanier, Henri Nouwen and others) - News/Articles
(On homelessness, poverty, addictions, mental illness, abuse issues, etc.) - Prayers (Anointed prayers for all seasons) - Tell a Friend (Send our website address to a friend) - Directory of Street ministries across Canada - Related Links

Homelessness Resources on the Web
November 7, 2001
Ginsler & Associates Inc., a consulting firm focusing on organizational development and community planning, has just updated the “Free Resources” page on its Web site. The new additions include over eighty documents relating to homelessness. Included are research studies, strategies for preventing homelessness, strategies for providing services to homeless people, and many items on creating affordable housing.
Source:
Ginsler & Associates - "Building Strong Communities Through Strong Organizations"

Homelessness Research Virtual Library (University of British Columbia)
"The homelessness research virtual library was created in response to a call from stakeholders for easier access to homelessness research information. The Virtual Library website provides immediate access to past and current homelessness research from the province of British Columbia and the Yukon. The project is a partnership between the University of British Columbia, Human Resources Development Canada and Shelter Net BC."
- this site offers links to 100+ abstracts and full reports, mostly dealing with the BC situation, that you can search by : Author - Organization - Title - Location of Research - Publication Year - Subjects (Population) - Subjects (Keywords) - Subjects (Research Type)

Source / Related Links:
University of British Columbia
Human Resources Development Canada
Shelter Net BC

Also about BC:

Housing Thousands of Women (focus on British Columbia)
By the Women's Housing Action Team (University of Victoria)
"On December 1, 2005, the Women's Housing Action Team and the University of Victoria released a major report, Housing Thousands of Women. There are two parts to the report: (1) Original research on housing experiences and requirements of older women, aboriginal, immigrant, and women living with disability, and (2) Policy implications for housing women, in particularly a graphic "Women's Housing Wheel" on the requirements for housing according to the realities and experiences of women."

Complete report:

Housing Thousands of Women: An edited collection
of the works of the Women’s Housing Action Team (PDF file - 1.3MB, 129 pages)
December 2005.

Source:
Studies in Policy and Practice Program (SPP) at the University of Victoria
Quality of Life CHALLENGE - "Demonstrating Care and Respect for Each Other, Our Community and the Environment"
The Quality of Life CHALLENGE is a comprehensive community initiative in British Columbia's capital region that brings people together to create solutions in the areas of housing, sustainable incomes, and community connections.

Homelessness in Vancouver
During the 1990's homelessness emerged as a major issue in communities across Canada. In Metro Vancouver, homelessness continues to be a complex and growing problem. The 2005 Homeless Count for Greater Vancouver showed that homelessness in the region doubled between 2002 and 2005. The Greater Vancouver Regional Steering Committee on Homelessness (RSCH) formed and now includes over 40 members representing service providers, community-based organizations, business and all levels of government. The RSCH developed and oversees the implementation of the Regional Homelessness Plan for Greater Vancouver.

2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count
The 2008 Metro Vancouver Homeless Count took place during a 24-hour period on the night of Monday March 10th and the daytime of Tuesday, March 11th 2008. (...) The purpose of the 2008 Homeless Count is to produce an updated estimate of the street and sheltered homeless, a demographic profile of this population, and identify trends in relation to previous counts. This information is then used to aid in service planning and inform policy development. Initial results indicated a total of 2,592 individuals enumerated, representing a 19% increase from the 2005 count and a 137% increase from the 2002 count. The final results now confirm a total of 2,660 homeless people; a 22% increase from 2005. The final report data was released September 16th, 2008.

Results of the 2008 Metro Vancouver
Homeless Count (PDF - 1.1MB, 77 pages)
September 16, 2008

Source:
Metro Vancouver
Metro Vancouver comprises four separate corporate entities operating under one name;
it includes 22 member municipalities and one electoral area.

2010 Homeless Champions
(Life in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver)
"This website is dedicated to telling the stories of the unfortunate individuals living in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in the hope that awareness of this problem will spur people to get involved, to let all levels of government know that something has to be done to alleviate this misery rooted in addiction, homelessness and depravity. To point the way to recovery from addiction, which we believe is the root of most of this situation. With the 2010 Olympics coming to Vancouver it is our mandate to record the transition and the extreme changes that are even now occurring and will continue to unfold in the Downtown Eastside."

2005 Greater Vancouver Homeless Count
September 2005

Complete report:

On our streets and in our shelters…
Results of the 2005 Greater Vancouver Homeless Count (PDF file - 1.2MB, 53 pages)
September 2005
Report produced by:
Michael Goldberg
Social Planning and Research Council of BC
[This report was produced for the Greater Vancouver Regional District - see the link below]

High(low)lights:

2005 Homeless Count Bulletin (PDF file - 140K, 4 pages)
- the number of street homeless in Vancouver regions increased 235% between 2002 and 2005, from 330 people to 1105 people.
- the number of homeless people has almost doubled since 2002, to 2,174 persons in 2005.
- the number of street homeless has grown by 238% or almost 800 persons since the last count in 2002.
- People with Aboriginal identity make up 2% of the population of Vancouver, but they represent 30% of the region’s homeless.
- Homeless seniors 55 and over grew from 51 persons in 2002 to 171 persons in 2005.

Source:
Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD)
"The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a partnership of 21 municipalities and one electoral area that make up the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver."

GVRD - Regional Homelessness Reports
- incl. links to the Homeless Count 2005 reports (March and September 2005), Census Bulletin - At-Risk of Homelessness (April 2005), the 2004/2005 Inventory of Lower Mainland Shelters, and more...

Welfare rolls down, homelessness up
New report blames provincial changes to eligibility rules for Vancouver's worsening situation
By Rod Mickleburgh
May 26, 2005
VANCOUVER -- Provincial government changes to welfare rules have doubled the severity of Vancouver's dire and growing homeless problem, according to the city's policy co-ordinator for the homeless. Jill Davidson said new requirements for receiving welfare the Liberals brought in are too onerous and bureaucratic for many of those eligible to receive social assistance. 'We think we could probably almost halve the number of people on the street if you just got people on welfare who were eligible for welfare,' said Ms. Davidson, the author of a 100-page report and action plan to eliminate homelessness in Vancouver within 10 years."
Source:
The Globe and Mail

Report lays out new strategy for homeless - Vancouver
By Mike Howell-Staff writer
May 23, 2005
"Increase mental health and addiction services, build more social housing and make changes to the province's employment and assistance program. Those are the key priorities to reducing homelessness as outlined in a lengthy city report, Homeless Action Plan, going before city council May 25 at a public meeting. Written by senior housing planner Jill Davidson, who has worked on the plan for more than a year, the report comes at a time when the streets are filling up with homeless people. The city's conservative estimates are that 600 people sleep on the streets in the winter months and up to 1,200 in the summer. That's double the number from three years ago."
Source:
The Vancouver Courier

Complete report:

Vancouver Homeless Action Plan (PDF file - 1.2MB, 105 pages)
By Jill Davidson
Homeless Policy Coordinator
Housing Centre
May 2005
Source:
The Housing Centre - City of Vancouver Community Services
The Housing Centre delivers social housing projects and undertakes policy and program development. The Tenant Assistance Program provides direct assistance to displaced tenants and homeless individuals in the City.
[City of Vancouver]

More Housing Centre Council reports - links to dozens more reports on housing and homelessness in Vancouver produced in the past few years by the Housing Centre.

Related Link:

Preliminary Results of [Vancouver] Homeless Count conducted on March 15, 2005 (PDF file - 14K, 2 pages)
Source:
Regional Homelessness
[Greater Vancouver Regional District]
"The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a partnership of 21 municipalities and one electoral area that make up the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver. GVRD's role in the Lower Mainland is to deliver essential utility services like drinking water, sewage treatment, recycling and garbage disposal that are most economical and effective to provide on a regional basis, and to protect and enhance the quality of life in our region by managing and planning growth and development, as well as protecting air quality and green spaces."

- Go to the Non-Governmental Sites in British Columbia (C-W) page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/bcbkmrk3.htm

Housing, Hunger and Health Statistics : What’s Available and Where to Find It
January 2004
- incl. links to online resources
PDF version
HTML version
Source:
CSPC-T Research & Policy Updates
[ Community Social Planning Council of Toronto (CSPC-T) ]

NHHN housing report card:
Feds, provinces, territories fail to meet commitments
as nation-wide affordable housing crisis grows worse (PDF file - 142K, 6 pages)
November 14, 2003
"Feds, provinces, territories fail to meet commitments as nation-wide affordable housing crisis grows worse" say the National Housing and Homelessness Network's recent report card. Three key demands of the report card include more money for housing, more accountability on where money is spent and an emergency summit for governments to come up with a specific plan."
Source:
National Housing and Homelessness Network

[ Found on the PovNet website ]

Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) - The national voice for affordable housing
Established in 1968, the Canadian Housing and Renewal Association is a national non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening the social housing sector. CHRA´s mission is to ensure that Canada has decent affordable housing for all.Selected site content:

CanadianHousing and Renewal Association
Releases National Affordable Housing Policy: Supports Bill C-304
OTTAWA, November 5, 2009
The Canadian Housing and Renewal Association (CHRA) will testify today at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development (HUMA) hearing on Bill C-304 to call for an Affordable Housing Policy for Canada. (...) The CHRA Affordable Housing Policy we are releasing today clearly outlines the rationale, principles, roles and responsibilities that will create and maintain a sustainable housing system.

An Affordable Housing Policy for Canada
November 2009
Complete report (PDF - 423K, 4 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF - 467K, 10 pages)

Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians
(40th Parliament - 2nd Session; Jan. 26, 2009 - )
Libby Davies (Vancouver East)
- includes links to:
* Text of the Bill
* Major Speaker's Rulings and Statements (House of Commons)
* Major Speeches in Parliament
* Status of the Bill
* Bill Reintroduced
* Selected Recorded Votes
* Coming into Force Information

---

CHRA LAUNCHES ON-LINE DISCUSSION ON HOUSING PROGRAM CHOICES
January 24, 2006
"For too long, Canadian housing policy has been hindered by “all or nothing” positions. In response, CHRA has developed a discussion paper to help move us toward a national housing framework that outlives policy fads or the next election. The paper, written by CHRA´s Research and Policy Committee, is intended to raise discussion around a number of different tools and seek input from across the country. It is not a CHRA position paper. The issues raised in the paper include:
* a “program tool box” – what is a balanced set of federal and provincial housing programs, should the greatest investments be targeted to the households in greatest need;
* how can bottom-up planning work – where communities choose the tools that make sense for them, and make the connections with health, immigration and city planning policies;
* are social housing, rent supplements and shelter allowances – all part of the “program tool box.”
CHRA would like your views and opinions. Please read the discussion paper and join our discussion."

Discussion Board:
Click on "Rent Supplements, Shelter Allowances
and a New Approach to Housing Policy"

Also from CHRA:

A Conceptual Framework for
Establishing a National Housing Trust/Foundation (Word file - 164K, 33 pages)
December 2004

Minimum wage housing data reveals lack of affordability in many metropolitan areas
News Release
January 4, 2006
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released its annual rental apartment survey earlier this month highlighting some stabilization in vacancy rates, but continued increases in rents in most metropolitan cities. The data identify only one part of the rental affordability issue – rent levels. The other critical element is how apartment rents compare to household incomes. One way to measure how affordable, or not, average market rents are is to determine the minimum hourly wage a worker must earn to afford a rental unit without spending more than the norm of 30 per cent typically used to measure housing affordability. The concept currently used in the US was adapted to Canada by Steve Pomeroy of Focus Consulting Inc. using the CMHC average market rent statistics released each fall.

Minimum Housing Wage:
A New Way to Think About Rental Housing Affordability (Word file - 56K, 5 pages)
January 2006
"In 15 cities more than 2 full time minimum wage earners are required [to reach the income level required for the cost of rent to equal 30% of total family income]. Alternatively, the household must earn well above average wage, spend far more than the norm of 30th of income for the rent, or crowd more people into the lower rent smaller units." [Excerpt, p.3]

Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada
The co-operative housing movement consists of housing co-operatives, whether occupied or under development, the people who live and work in them, and the organizations and individuals that serve and support them. CHF Canada is the nation-wide umbrella organization for co-op housing and Canada’s link with co-op housing around the world.

Site Map: recommended to fully appreciate the wealth of housing information on this site!
This site contains an impressive amount of information as well as hundreds of links to housing co-operatives, regional federations, members and associates, government departments and agencies, general housing information, international housing websites, co-op research, and more...
You can spend hours here if you start clicking on each regional link - and you'll want to, because most of them are portals to excellent local or provincial information. There's a special focus on Ontario, but you'll find information here for of all of Canada. Read the newsletters, see the special sections on diversity, youth, students and international co-op housing, and check out the online documents...
TIP: Use the site search feature to find documents on homelessness...

Canadian Co-Housing Network
- incl. links to : What is Cohousing? | About CCN | Canadian Projects | Resources | Professional Services | Links of Interest | News
" Cohousing Neighbourhoods... Some people call them a return to the best of small-town communities. Others say they are like a traditional village or the close-knit neighbourhood where they grew up, while futurists call them an altogether new response to social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century."

Landlord/Tenancy /Rental Resources in Canada
- links to 60+ online resources, from legislation to government and non-governmental organizations
Source:
ACJNet Canada - "Canada's connection to the world of law and justice"

Out of Sight, Out of Mind
The Plight of Seniors and Homelessness (PDF file - 308K, 117 pages)
A report on homelessness and the risk of homelessness among seniors and vulnerable adults in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia
September 2003
Henry C. Hightower, Jill Hightower, M.J. (Greta) Smith
Published by
Seniors Housing Information Program
"The Seniors Housing Information Program is a non-profit organization which provides information on housing and services for seniors living in or wishing to live in the Vancouver and the Lower Mainland of British Columbia."
Housing Directory - supportive housing for seniors in the Lower Mainland of BC - 1200+ listings
[Found on the PovNet website]

Also from PovNet:

Homelessness/Housing Resources

GIMME SHELTER!
Homelessness and Canada’s Social Housing Crisis
by Nick Falvo
The Citizens for Social Justice Foundation for Research and Education
Toronto
May 2003
Complete Report (PDF file - 231K, 36 pages)

Centre for Research on Community Services
(part of the University of Ottawa's Faculty of Social Sciences)
"The mission of the Centre for Research on Community Services (CRCS) is to conduct research and provide training that will contribute to the development of effective health and social services for vulnerable populations living in the community."
- incl. links to : About the Centre - What's New? - Personnel - Research Projects - Conferences and workshops - Online Publications - Newsletters - Internet Links
Faculty of Social Sciences
[ University of Ottawa ]

Online Publications - links to over two dozen online summaries and presentations of CRCS projects organized under the following themes : At-Risk Children and Adolescents, including Child Welfare - Homelessness - Community Mental Health

Internet Links - links to 30+ websites organized under the following headings: Child Welfare & High Risk Youth - Homelessness - Community Mental Health - Developmental Disabilities - Program Evaluation - Other Links

Canadian Policy Research Networks

Social Housing in Canada - 2008
September 25, 2008
CPRN's Housing Internship Program was initiated in 2006 to support original public and social policy research in Canada's social housing sector. The program has been funded by Social Housing Services Corporation of Ontario, the Knowledge Mobilization Unit of York University and the City of Ottawa. Interns, who are public policy post-graduates, research and produce the papers. It is the only housing-specific policy research-training program in Canada and to date has funded 13 internships and produced 12 reports, including a synthesis report.

NOTE : the link below is to the synthesis paper, which consists of a one-paragraph description/summary of each of the individual reports.
Social Housing in Canada [synthesis](PDF - 40K, 3 pages)

Individual reports:
[The release date for the reports listed below varies from October 2007 to September 2008,
and most of them are between 50 and 60 pages in length.
You can access links to all of the reports below on the CPRN Social Housing in Canada page.]

*Fostering Better Integration and Partnerships for Housing in Canada: Lessons for Creating a Stronger Policy Model of Governmental and Community Collaboration
* Social Lives in Social Housing: Resident Connections to Social Services
* Sustaining Ontario’s Subsidized Housing by Supporting Non-Profit Organizations
* Moving Towards Sustainability: City-Regions and Their Infrastructure
* The Role of Supportive Housing for Low-Income Seniors in Ontario
* Linking Social Housing and Energy Efficiency
* The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Funding Social Housing in Canada
* Towards Food Security Policy for Canada’s Social Housing Sector
* Housing for Immigrants in Ontario’s Medium-Sized Cities
* A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada

All CPRN publications --- 1600+ links

Canada's housing crisis
"Latest agreement provides a glimmer of hope but greater commitment is needed."
- Our voices lead to action : A glimmer of hope on housing
- Activist stresses moral challenge (interview with Michael Shapcott)
Source : Citizens for Public Justice

Housing and Health("Investigating socio-economic dimensions of housing and health")
"We are a collaborative research team conducting a Needs, Gaps and Opportunities Assessment for housing and health research in Canada through an environmental scan, stakeholder dialogues, workshops and surveys."
- incl. links to : About the Research - Research Team - Background Paper - Resources - Who's Who - Related Links - Contact Us

Housing and Health Resources
125+ links to housing resources organized under the following headings : Government - Non-Government - Academic - Local - International

Women and Housing in Canada : Barriers to Equality
March 2002
[version française]
"This national report discusses federal government programs and policies from the standpoint of the particular barriers facing low income women in meeting their housing needs. The report situates women’s homelessness within the context of women’s poverty and it thus assesses not only programs and policies related to housing, but also those related to income support."
- incl. sections on : Re-Defining and Re-Thinking Homelessness - Federal Housing Programs (Rental Housing, Homeownership, Homelessness Secretariat) - Aboriginal Women and Housing - Income Support Programs (Income Assistance - CAP and Beyond, NCB Supplement, Employment Insurance) - Recommendations
Source : Women's Program
"CERA's Women's Program was established in early 2000 in recognition of and to address low-income women's particular experiences of inequality and discrimination in the housing sector."

A Tale of Two Canadas
Homeowners Getting Richer, Renters Getting Poorer
Income and Wealth Trends in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, 1984 and 1999
August 20, 2001
First in a series of policy analyses based on Statistics Canada’s Survey of Financial Security
By J. David Hulchanski, PhD, MCIP
Director, Centre for Urban and Community Studies
Professor of Housing and Community Development, University of Toronto
Source : Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
Homeowners’ wealth increased from being 29 times that of renters in 1984 to 70 times that of renters in 1999

City of Edmonton Housing Services
- incl. links to Ten-Year Low-Income and Special Needs Housing Strategy - A Count of Homeless Persons in Edmonton (3 reports - latest is September, 2000) - Edmonton Community Plan on Homelessness

Ontario

Stableandaffordable.com
Welcome to stableandaffordable.com – an initiative of the Wellesley Institute and many partners across Ontario. Here, you’ll find plenty of facts and figures about housing in Ontario, along with stories from people around the province, and tips for actions that you can take to ensure everyone in Ontario has a stable and affordable home. Stableandaffordable.com is an initiative of the Wellesley Institute and the Ontario Housing Network. We are a network of organizations dedicated to one goal: stable and affordable housing for all Canadians.

Tell us your housing story!

Helpful Resources
- incl. links to selected key resources on housing and homelessness in Ontario:
*Where’s Home 2008 * National Housing Report Card 2008 * Housing and Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy * Key elements of an Ontario housing strategy: A policy dispatch from Poverty Watch Ontario * Consultation principles * Ottawa report card: The Ottawa Alliance to End Homelessness fourth annual report card * Blueprint to End Homelessness in Toronto (Wellesley Institute, 2006)

Related links:

It’s time to raise your voice for affordable housing!
June 12, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The Housing Network of Ontario has an on-line hub that is regularly being updated with the latest news, reports from community meetings, tips for actions and plenty of other resources. Here’s some of the new material: Community report from Sault Ste. Marie: Notes from the preparatory meeting of housing leaders in the Soo on June 11; Building from the community up: Five practical tips for action; Homeless-making processes: A worksheet from Dr. David Hulchanski; Local housing audits: Quick tips on preparing housing audit for your community; Fixing Ontario’s affordable housing crisis: A presentation from Harvey Cooper, Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada – Ontario Region.
More than 225 people and groups have already endorsed the Housing Network of Ontario’s on-line declaration: “We believe everyone in Ontario has the right to live poverty-free and with dignity in housing that is stable, adequate, equitably accessible and affordable…" Read the full declaration and add your endorsement on the site. Also on the HNO web site: You can tell your housing story; find plenty of helpful resources; tell us what’s happening in your community and find out what is happening in other places; and learn more about the Housing Network of Ontario.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Also from the Wellesley Institute:

Taking action as Ontario gets set to launch provincial housing consultation
May 31, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The Housing Network of Ontario is continuing to prepare for the Ontario's government's consultations for a comprehensive new provincial housing plan. The government is expected to announce details of the provincial consultation in the next few days. The Wellesley Institute is a founding member of the Housing Network of Ontario and we have launched a new web site to help people and groups across the province learn about the key issues and get engaged in the consultation. The Toronto Star's Laurie Monsebraaten has set out some of the key issues in the following article:

Activists set to push for housing
May 30, 2009
By Laurie Monsebraaten
"(...) Across the province, almost 130,000 households are waiting for provincially subsidized housing with wait times that run from several years to several decades, depending on the location. It's a problem the McGuinty Liberals promised to address during the 2007 provincial election. But their pledge to develop a long-term affordable housing strategy was put on hold while they crafted a poverty reduction plan. With a provincial plan now in place to cut child poverty by 25 per cent in five years and poverty reduction legislation enacted last month, housing activists are gearing up for the government to turn its attention to people [who are on provincial subsidized housing lists]."
Source:
The Toronto Star

-------------------------------------------------
A related link about the
"Ontario Housing Measure":
-------------------------------------------------

Suggestions for an Indicator to Measure Trends in Housing Induced Poverty (PDF - 313K, 11 pages)
This report is ONPHA’s contribution to assist the government in defining the “Ontario Housing Measure” – one of eight key measures to be used in determining the effectiveness of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.
Author: ONPHA
May 11, 2009
Source:
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
ONPHA gives non profit-housing tools to do the best possible job. ONPHA offers a comprehensive list of programs and services. We are advocates for our members with all members of government; we deliver courses, workshops and resources for volunteer boards, staff and tenants; help members save money through our Best Deals program; work toward building networks locally and provincially to ensure that non-profit housing has a respected voice in the community; and we fight to get more new affordable housing built in Ontario.

---
Affordable housing - from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- incl. overviews of affordable housing in the US, the UK and Canada (only Ontario)
---

From The Toronto Star:

Homeless tide sure to rise
July 31, 2010
By Nick Falvo
You can step over homeless people, but you can’t ignore them. The recession is finally over, but we haven’t seen all of the after-effects, especially when we’re talking about homelessness. And if our political leaders don’t come to terms with this soon, we’ll see a steep rise in homelessness in the near future. The homeless population of a given jurisdiction is typically the last group to see a change after a recession, making homelessness the opposite of the proverbial canary in a mine shaft.
Source:
The Toronto Star
Nick Falvo is a PhD candidate at Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration. A longer version of this article was presented at this year’s annual conference of the Canadian Economics Association (May 28-30, Quebec City). See the next link below.

Related link:

Calm Before the Storm:
The Great Recession’s Impact on Homelessness (PDF - 299K, 23 pages)
By Nick Falvo, Carleton University
Paper Presentation to the
44th Annual Conference of the
Canadian Economics Association
May 28-30, 2010
Quebec City
Recessions are much more than a numerical change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or another term for high unemployment. The full impact of a recession takes many years to completely unfold and a recession’s impact on households and communities is neither straightforward nor immediate. The homeless population of a given jurisdiction is one of the last groups to see a change after the onset of a recession, making homelessness the opposite of the proverbial canary in the mine shaft.
(...) The purpose of this essay is to explain how recessions have traditionally impacted homelessness. It will then discuss the current recession with a focus on Toronto, Canada. Toronto is the focus in part because, with a population of roughly 2.6 million people (5.5 million in the Greater Toronto Area), it is Canada’s largest city and sixth largest government.

Buddy can you spare a home?
April 5, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
More than 66,000 individuals and families in Toronto are on the list for subsidized apartments in these buildings – a number city officials say would take 66 years to serve at the current rate of affordable housing construction. They are the tip of a veritable iceberg of need in a city where an estimated 200,000 low-income households spend more than 30 per cent of their income on rent and another 4,000 sleep in homeless shelters every night.

Ottawa must commit on housing: Province
April 5, 2008
By Laurie Monsebraaten
A Toronto plan to provide safe, affordable homes for more than 200,000 vulnerable families and individuals in the next 10 years may never get off the ground if Ottawa doesn't contribute, warns Ontario Housing Minister Jim Watson.

Video presentations from Ontario housing summit
in Toronto (May 11, 2009)
May 14, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
About 100 housing leaders from across Ontario gathered in Toronto on May 11 for the Housing Network of Ontario's first provincial summit. The group is preparing for the upcoming consultation by the Ontario government to create a province-wide, comprehensive affordable housing plan. More info on the consultation, key resources and a special place to tell your housing stories is available here. The Wellesley Institute is working with a number of provincial and local groups to ensure that Ontario gets a solid and realistic housing plan that ensures everyone has a healthy and affordable home.
Links to the key presentations at the forum
(YouTube videos):
* Affordability and income (Ann Fitzpatrick)
* Housing supply and stock (Harvey Cooper)
* Supportive housing (Phillip Dufresne)
* Housing indicators and measures (Lynne Browne)
* Housing / homelessness report card (Lynne Browne)

Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

From the Government of Ontario:

Helping Families In Need:
McGuinty Government To Increase Ontario Child Benefit And Invest In Affordable Housing
March 20, 2009
Ontario is doing more to support low income families facing challenging economic times. The government is proposing to increase the Ontario Child Benefit this July, from $600 to a maximum of $1,100 per child per year. The Ontario Child Benefit helps 1.3 million children by giving moms and dads monthly support. Ontario is also planning to increase its investment in social and affordable housing to create short-term jobs in construction and renovation while improving the lives of people with low-incomes. Working with the federal government, Ontario would renovate 50,000 social housing units and build 4,500 new affordable housing units through a joint investment of $1.2 billion.
Source:
Newsroom - Ontario.ca

Related link:

Ontario makes substantial down payment on new provincial housing plan
March 20, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Ontario has made a substantial down payment to meet the housing needs of tens of thousands of people who are precariously housed or homeless. Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and housing minister Jim Watson have announced plans today to invest $624.5 million over the next two years in affordable housing initiatives. When combined with matching federal dollars, it amounts to more than $1.2 billion. (...) Today’s provincial housing announcement meets the first priority set out by the Wellesley Institute in our 2009 budget recommendations to the Government of Ontario, which was to fully match federal affordable housing dollars. But provincial housing investments still lag behind the deep and persistent need across the province, and Ontario is lagging behind provides such as Alberta in making commitments for urgently needed new housing investments.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Where's Home? - declining prospects in Ontario
March 3, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
As Ontario continues its slide into one of the deepest recessions in 50 years, the income gap between renters and home owners in the province continues to increase. This worrisome trend, combined with low vacancy rates in many areas and long waiting lists for social housing across the province, highlights the need for increased investment in affordable housing to protect families and create jobs, according to a report released on Monday. The eighth annual edition of Where’s Home? A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario (2008) authored by the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) Ontario Region, analyzes 22 separate housing markets across Ontario.
Comment found in:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Complete report:

Where’s Home?
A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario, 2008 (PDF - 1.8MB, 66 pages)
March 2009
"(...) Since 1999, the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) have collaborated on Where’s Home?, a periodic report on the state of rental housing markets and rental housing affordability in 22 selected housing markets and the Province as a whole. As we have been tracking information on the rental market for several years, our analysis provides not only a snapshot of today’s rental housing markets and housing affordability, but also a picture of trends over the longer term. This report focuses on vacancy rates, rental housing production, changes in rents, incomes and housing affordability."
Source:
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada)

2008 Market Summaries - Ontario (PDF - 487K, 111 pages)
Detailed information for each of 22 Census Areas (CAs) and Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) in Ontario
- includes ten-year comparisons of a number of variables, including vacancy rates, changes in average rents compared to inflation, rent increases for a 2-bedroom apartment, proportion of income spent on housing, average household incomes of owners and tenants, ownership and rental housing completions, and more

Confirmed: Deepening rental housing crisis in Canada, Ontario, Toronto
December 11, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has confirmed this morning what Canada’s 3.9 million renter households already know: Private rental housing has slipped into a much deeper crisis. The national rental vacancy rate has dropped by a staggering 15% over the past year down to a critically low 2.2% - the lowest level in six years. Across Canada, rents are rising faster than the rate of inflation.
- incl. highlights from the national, Ontario and Toronto rental market numbers
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Coalition releases innovative plan to address housing poverty
[missing link]
News Release
November 17, 2008
TORONTO – A coalition of private, public and non-profit housing associations, community organizations, academics, and foundations released a proposal today for a new housing benefit for low-income Ontarians. The proposal, outlined in A Housing Benefit for Ontario: One Housing Solution for a Poverty Reduction Strategy, recommends a new income benefit that will help low-income, working age renters with high shelter costs in communities across Ontario. The proposal would add a necessary affordable housing component to Ontario’s highly anticipated Poverty Reduction Strategy, expected in December.

A Housing Benefit for Ontario
One Housing Solution for a Poverty Reduction Strategy (PDF - 255K, 30 pages)
November 2008
"(...)The proposed benefit pays an average of $103 per month to an estimated 66,000 families and 129,000 individual and couple households. The amount of the benefit is based on a formula that pays 75% of shelter costs between a floor and a ceiling that varies by community size. The housing benefit is reduced as income rises."

Housing Benefit Summary (PDF - 57K, 2 pages)

Housing Benefit Q & A (PDF - 44K, 5 pages)

Source:
Proposal submitted to the Province of Ontario by a coalition of industry and community organizations:
Federation of Rental Housing Providers of Ontario
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association
Greater Toronto Apartments Association (no website found)
Metcalf Charitable Foundation
Atkinson Charitable Foundation
Daily Bread Food Bank
===> see the Daily Bread Food Bank Publications page for related links...

Hefty housing costs stay local in "good news / bad news" provincial funding deal
October 31, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Good news: The Ontario government, along with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario and the City of Toronto, jointly announced earlier today a plan to upload the costs of several provincial income assistance programs back to the provincial level over the next decade. This will give municipalities some significant fiscal breathing room – as it takes the cost of this income-distributive program off the municipal tax base and returns it to the provincial tax base, where it belongs. The timing is good as the demand for income assistance programs may well increase with the current economic crisis. Bad news: The cost of the provincial social housing program – which was downloaded to municipalities under the former Harris government starting in 1998 – remains at the local level.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through community-based research , community engagement , and the informing of public policy.

-----
Some contextual information:
* Ontario is the only Canadian province that still requires a direct municipal government contribution towards the cost of providing welfare (known as the Ontario Works Program or OW) to the able-bodied needy population residing within their municipal boundaries. Municipalities pay 20% of the total OW bill on their territory.
* Last-resort financial assistance for people with disabilities is provided under the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP). Municipalities also pay 20% of the total ODSP bill on their territory.
* The Ontario Government has already announced that the cost of ODSP will be gradually be transferred to the provincial government between 2009 and 2011.
-----

Related links:

Province Eases Financial Pressures on Municipalities and Property Taxpayers
Provincial and municipal partners reach agreement
News Release
October 31, 2008
The McGuinty government is moving to upload all social assistance benefits and court security costs from municipalities, as stated in an agreement announced today by the Province of Ontario, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and the City of Toronto.

Complete report:

Report of the Provincial-Municipal Fiscal
and Service Delivery Review - Facing the Future Together (PDF - 1.6MB, 64 pages)
Fall 2008
Source:
Provincial Municipal Fiscal and Service Delivery Review
[ Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing ]

Commission launches report calling for collective housing strategy
News Release
July 8, 2008
Toronto - Chief Commissioner Barbara Hall and the Ontario Human Rights Commission today launched “Right at home: Report on the consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario.” This report, which follows a year of public sessions, meetings and submissions involving hundreds of individuals and organizations across the province, focuses on housing as a human right, and sets out a framework for collective action to identify, remove and prevent discrimination in rental housing.
* includes links to five backgrounders

RIGHT AT HOME : Report on the
consultation on human rights and rental housing in Ontario (PDF - 460K, 107 pages)
Approved by the Commission: May 28, 2008

Soure:
Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC)

More OHRC housing resources - incl. backgrounders, consultation paper, background paper and more...

Related link:

Powerful historic report links housing rights to housing action
July 8, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
The Ontario Human Rights Commission, an independent agency that reports to the provincial Legislature, released a dynamic new report today called “Right at Home” that is both historic and ground-breaking. The report draws powerful links between international housing rights – which have been ratified by the Canadian government – and Ontario’s desperate crisis of housing insecurity and homelessness.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

Federal funding for aboriginal housing, education 'woefully inadequate': Ontario
McGuinty: Flaherty's wrong about Ont.
By Chinta Puxley
March 19, 2008
TORONTO - Ottawa is "woefully" underfunding First Nations communities when it comes to housing, health care and education, and provinces aren't rich enough to pick up the slack, Ontario's aboriginal affairs minister said Wednesday.
Source:
C-News (CANOE)

2007 Forum on Social Housing and Homelessness for
Service Managers, Shelter Providers and Front Line Staff (PDF file - 1.3MB, 25 pages)
September 18–20, 2007
Toronto, Ontario
"(...)The theme for this year’s forum, “It Starts with Us”, is reflected in the main message within the keynote addresses and workshops being offered over the two-and-a-half- day forum. Delegates who deliver municipal social housing and homelessness services as well as shelter and hostel representatives from across Ontario can expect to come away from this forum with tools, resources and concrete examples of partnerships, as well as a renewed sense of the importance of collaboration as they pursue the goal of healthy communities and a home for all Ontarians."

Source:/
Ontario Municipal Social Services Association

Ontario’s housing allowance plan
violates federal operating principles
April 5, 2007
Ontario’s $185 million housing allowance plan, announced in the 2007 provincial budget on March 22 and funded entirely with federal affordable housing trust fund dollars, violates the operating principles tabled by federal finance minister Jim Flaherty in the House of Commons in May of 2006

Ontario desperately seeking affordable apartments
Media Release
March 14, 2007
Toronto – There are not enough apartments to rent in Ontario and those that are available are unaffordable for the average worker. These are the findings of “Where’s Home? 2006: A Picture of Housing Need in Ontario.” The report is produced by the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association (ONPHA) and the Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF).

Where's Home 2006:
A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario (PDF file - 262K, 45 pages)
March 2007
This latest in a series of reports co-produced by ONPHA and the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada, Ontario Council finds that there aren't enough apartments available in Ontario, and those that are available are unaffordable for the average worker

Fact Sheet (PDF file - 17K, 1 page)
Undated (PDF file is dated March 14/07)

Earlier reports in this series - back to 1999

Sources:

Cooperative Housing Federation of Canada
The Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada (CHF Canada) is the organized voice of the Canadian co-operative housing movement. We exist to unite, represent and serve the community of housing co-operatives across Canada and member organizations that support their operation and development.

Ontario Non-profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
ONPHA is the voice of non-profit housing in Ontario. ONPHA unites 770 non-profit organizations providing housing in 220 communities across Ontario. Our members include municipal and private non-profits of all sizes, with all types of funding.

Related links:

The Wellesley Institute
The Wellesley Institute advances the social determinants of health through rigorous community-based research, reciprocal capacity building, and the informing of public policy.

The Wellesley Institute Blog

Issue Pages: Housing and Homelessness
- incl. links to key online resources, presentations and blog entries on this issue

Affordable Housing - from the Ontario Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs

A housing policy win - more homes on the way!
February 28, 2007
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced on Tuesday that the provincial government is going to start the flow of $392.5 million in federal funding to build new affordable homes in Ontario. Sounds pretty simple - all the province is required to do is get out of the way and let the federal money flow to housing developers across the province

Related link:

Fourteen cents a day won’t build many homes (PDF file - 150K, 6 pages)
February 2007
By Michael Shapcott
The Ontario government spends about 14 cents per person per day on affordable housing — less than half the amount spent in 2000 — even though the province’s population and its housing needs continue to grow significantly. The low level of spending means the government has been able to fund only a fraction of the new homes it promised in 2003. And those targets from 2003 were already modest, when set against the desperate province-wide need for affordable homes.
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives - Ontario Office

from The Wellesley Institute:

Provincial Pre-Budget Submission on Housing and Homelessness (PDF file - 60K, 4 pages)
08 Dec 2006
The costs of Ontario's affordable housing crisis and homelessness disaster to individuals, communities and government are enormous, yet Ontario's housing spending has been dropping sharply since 2000 and is currently at 14 cents per person per day. The Wellesley Institute, in our provincial pre-budget submission on housing and homelessness, is calling on the Ontario government to:
o honour the housing commitments that it made in 2003;
o stop blocking the $392.5 million in stalled federal housing dollars;
o and, upload the cost of housing back to the provincial level and increase overall housing spending to 25 cents per capita per day as a first step to ramping up housing spending to meet housing need.

$402 Million for Affordable Housing Allocated to Communities in Ontario
"TORONTO, August 31, 2005 — The Governments of Canada and Ontario have allocated $402 million to municipalities as a first wave of funding under the new $602 million Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program. This allocation will produce 5,320 new units of affordable housing, and provide rent subsidies for up to 5,000 lower-income households."
- includes a backgrounder with more detailed info on the "Wave 1 Allocations (Fall 2005)" --- showing the number of units affected and the funding allocation for each of Ontario's municipal regions with respect to new affordable housing units and housing allowances/rent supplements
Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

Related Links:

City of Toronto - includes a link to the same release and backgrounder as you'll find on the CHMC and MAH sites above - PLUS a link to the Memorandum of Understanding (small PDF file) signed by partners CMHC, MAH, Ontario municipalities (as represented by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario) and the City of Toronto, in the implementation of the Agreement.

Allocation announcement starts the ball rolling on new Affordable Housing Program
August 31, 2005
Source:
Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association

Ontario Government Increases Support For Homeless
Addresses Shelter Shortfall And Tops Up Prevention Programs
News Release
February 8, 2005
"TORONTO — The Ontario government is providing communities across the province with additional funding for essential services for people who are homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless, Community and Social Services Minister Sandra Pupatello confirmed today. (...) In total, the province spends almost $135 million each year on services that protect the homeless, and programs to prevent people from becoming homeless."

Backgrounders:

* Helping The Homeless In Ontario
* Provincial Funding For The Consolidated Homelessness Prevention Program By Urban Center

Source:
Ministry of Community and Social Services

From the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing:

McGuinty Government Announces New Affordable Housing Strategy
Providing Variety of Housing Assistance with Comprehensive Approach
News Release
April 29, 2005
"TORONTO — The McGuinty government today signed a new Affordable Housing Agreement with the federal government as part of its comprehensive affordable housing strategy."

Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program
Housing Research Reports

From the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation(CMHC):

$602 Million Allocated for Affordable Housing in Ontario
News Release
"TORONTO, April 29, 2005 — The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario today signed an Affordable Housing Agreement, which will commit $602 million over the next four years to increase the supply of affordable housing in the province.The agreement was signed today by the Honourable Joe Fontana, Minister of Labour and Housing, and the Honourable David Caplan, Ontario's Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal. The federal/provincial agreement includes a commitment of $301 million from each level of government.
Source:
The Toronto Star

Needy families to get help with rent
News Release
April 29, 2005
"Ontario is getting back into the affordable housing business today with the announcement of a $602 million provincial-federal deal. Sources say the $602 million, which will start flowing this fall, will build 15,000 affordable housing units and provide rent supplements to 5,000 needy families across Ontario. There are about 150,000 Ontario families awaiting affordable housing. In Toronto alone, there are 63,000 families on the waiting list."
Source:
The Toronto Star

------------------------

Google.ca News Search Results : "Canada, Ontario, affordable housing agreement"
Google.ca Web Search Results : "Canada, Ontario, affordable housing agreement"
Source:
Google.ca

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November 02, 2004
Housing Report Update: Rising Food Bank Use Linked to Tenant Protection Act (PDF file - 142K, 3 pages)
"Daily Bread has taken a closer look at our research statistics to determine the correlation between rent increases and food bank use. The results are included in the attached an update to our August report on housing. The data shows that there is a strong link between rising food bank use and the Tenant Protection Act. "
Source:
Publications
[ Daily Bread Food Bank ]
More links to recent Daily Bread reports (this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading)

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Low Income Energy Network:

Share the Warmth (STW)
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)
Community Social Planning Council of Toronto (CSPC-T)
Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC)
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC)
Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA)

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Your Utility Costs: Ontario Hydro electricity prices, water and natural gas rates
- written for tenants but provides a comprehensive collection of information for anyone interested in utility costs in Ontario
- over 300 links to information (mainly newspaper articles) about Ontario Hydro privatization, deregulation of electricity in Ontario, electricity rates, and hydro electricity contracts

More Ontario Hydro electricity privatization and deregulation links
- over 700 links on this page (mainly newspaper articles)

Source:
Ontario Tenants / Toronto Tenants
- incl. links to : Tenant Protection Act | Apartments for Rent Ontario Landlord and Tenant Q&A | Housing and poverty reports | Other housing links | Tenant rights and social justice | Renters municipal issues | Tenant help & lobbying | Apartment safety & security | Tenant health: Toxic mold, cockroaches | Consumer Information | Tenant association organizing | Utility costs: Ontario hydro, natural gas | Community links.

Related Links:

Higher electricity costs hit poor the hardest
Advocates call for energy discounts Ontario to set new pricing formula
September 11, 2004
"Higher electricity prices in Ontario will hammer the poor and leave the wealthy relatively unscathed, a coalition of social activist groups have told an Ontario Energy Board hearing. The lowest income families are far more likely than their wealthier neighbours to use electricity to heat their homes and hot water, Mary Todorow of the Low Income Energy Network told the board yesterday. Because they're far likelier to be tenants, they probably can't curb power use by buying more efficient appliances, heating systems or insulation."
Source:
The Toronto Star

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Homeless women 'crisis'
In Toronto, they're dying at 10 times the normal rate
AIDS, drugs, suicide common causes, researchers find
April 13, 2004
Elaine Carey
"Homeless women in Toronto are dying at 10 times the rate of other women between 18 and 44, according to a new study released today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal."
Source:
The Toronto Star

Risk of death among homeless women: a cohort study and review of the literature
April 13, 2004
Angela M. Cheung and Stephen W. Hwang
Abstract
Complete article:
HTML version
PDF version (146K, 5 pages)

Related Links:

Canadian Medical Association Journal

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Dying in the shadows: the challenge of providing health care for homeless people
Commentary on the article by Cheung and Hwang
By James O'Connell (Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School)
April 13, 2004
HTML version
PDF version (172K, 2 pages)

Somewhere to Live or Something to Eat: Housing Issues of Food Bank Clients in the Greater Toronto Area
August 2, 2004
- based on housing statistics from the Daily Bread Food Bank's Annual Survey of Food Bank Clients.
"This 22-page paper looks at the key housing issues affecting food bank clients. Set against the context of the Welfare Rates cut in 1995 and the Tenant Protection Act in 1998, the paper focuses on rent and income problems many food bank clients are facing now. (...) It is particularly timely given that the Ontario government has just completed its consultation process for new landlord-tenant legislation and is currently engaged in writing a new act in which new rent control guidelines will be established. This paper should be viewed as a contribution to that process."

Complete Report (PDF file - 766K, 22 pages)
Summary of Housing Report (PDF file - 24K, 2 pages)

Source:
Publications
[ Daily Bread Food Bank ]

Building Strong Communities: Rent Reform (summer 2003) The Residential Tenancy Reform Consultation Paper (PDF file - 651K, 48 pages) Summary (PDF file - 358K, 20 pages) Online Questionnaire Town Hall Meetings (schedule) Current Residential Tenancy Reform News Source: Ontario Municipal Affairs and Housing Related Links: Policy Options for Rent Regulation and Tenant Protection in Ontario Policy Options Forum November 13, 2003 "A policy options forum on rent regulation, tenant protection and related issues was held on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2003. This event was sponsored by the Centre for Urban and Community Studies at the University of Toronto and the Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario. Julia McNally, Kenn Hale and David Hulchanski are among the policy experts who presented an overview of the issues and potential solutions." - includes links to over two dozen documents: papers from the Forum, the Ontario Liberal Party's 2003 election promises, recommendations for tenant law reform, context: rental housing problems Source: Centre for Urban and Community Studies [ University of Toronto ]

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McGuinty Government Delivers Real, Positive Change Through Provincial Rent Bank Program
March 29, 2004
"TORONTO -The McGuinty government is delivering real, positive change by setting up a new Provincial Rent Bank program that will help low-income tenants with short-term arrears so they can stay in their homes."
FAQ's Energy Emergency Fund - (Word file - 33K, 2 pages)
Provincial Rent Bank Program For Short-Term Rent Arrears (March 29 News Release - Ministry of Community and Social Services)
McGuinty Government Assisting Low-Income Families With Energy Emergencies (March 29 Backgrounder - Ministry of Community and Social Services)
Provincial Rent Bank Program - Municipal FAQs - from Municipal Affairs and Housing

Google News search Results : "Provincial Rent Bank Program - Ontario"
Google Web Search Results : "Provincial Rent Bank Program - Ontario"
Source:
Google.ca

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New Legislation to Reduce Rent Hikes
Misnamed "Tenant Protection Act" to be replaced by real protection
April 20, 2004
"TORONTO — The McGuinty government will introduce legislation to suspend the automatic two per cent base portion of annual rent increases for tenants in 2005, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing John Gerretsen announced today. If passed, the legislation will provide a "time out" while the government consults with tenants and landlords on replacing the previous government's misnamed 'Tenant Protection Act'. (...)
Consultations to replace the current Act will commence immediately with a view to placing legislation before the House this fall. Ontarians can provide their views through town hall meetings, e-consultation and stakeholder meetings until June 15, 2004."
Building Strong Communities: Rent Reform (Ontario)

The Economics of Homelessness
"We know that the cost of homelessness is high, too high. But did you know it costs a fortune to keep someone homeless? Here are some statistics which were prepared by the Community Partners Program of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing in 1999:

Monthly Housing Costs for One Person

Compare these figures to the monthly cost of providing a new non-profit unit - $1,080 according to the Ministry. Even the monthly carrying costs of a new condo unit are less than the cost of keeping someone homeless!"
Source : Parkdale Community Legal Services (Toronto)

State of the Crisis, 2003: Ontario housing policies are de-housing Ontarians
Ontario Alternative Budget 2003 Technical Paper #2
by Michael Shapcott
March 2003
Complete report (HTML) - incl. highlights, news release
(from the Disabled Women's Network - Ontario website)
Complete report (PDF file - 450K, 18 pages)
Report Highlights
News release - March 14, 2003
Source:
CCPA Ontario
[CCPA - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives]

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DAWN DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario

Federal-Ontario housing update - September 2002
Housing and Homelessness Network in Ontario
Source :

A primer on the federal-Ontario housing deal: Three key questions on the plan for 10,000 new units
Media Advisory
May 26, 2002
National Housing & Homelessness Network
Source : DAWN DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario

Province-by-province update: Nine of ten fail to make the grade
Report Card
May 15, 2002
"All ten provinces signed the Affordable Housing Framework Agreement in Quebec City in November of 2001. The federal government agreed to provide $680 million over five years for new affordable housing. The provinces agreed to match the federal funds, although the Quebec City deal gives them "wiggle room" to get credit for spending by third parties."
- only Quebec has fully matched federal funds
- only Quebec and British Columbia have signed agreements
- five of ten provinces have cut housing spending

Related Link :

Reality check: The truth about rental housing in Ontario!
by Michael Shapcott
National Housing and Homelessness Network
May 16, 2002
"... six months after the Ontario government signed the Affordable Housing Framework Agreement in Quebec City, Ontario had failed to honour the commitments it made in November of 2001."
Read this annotated excerpt from the Ontario Hansard for May 14 (2002), where Michael Shapcott offers six "reality checks"about the Ontario Government's record on affordable housing.

Source :
DAWN DisAbled Women's Network - Ontario

Housing Again - "...a site dedicated to putting affordable housing back on the public agenda"
Putting Housing Back on the Public Agenda is a community group which brings together senior housing government officials, (past and present, elected and nonelected, from all levels of government), community housing proponents, housing developers, and others interested in affordable housing.

Selected content from the Housing Again Bulletin

• Bulletin Number 108 February 2008
"...a monthly electronic bulletin highlighting what people are doing to put housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and around the world."

* Building Momentum: Affordable Housing Agenda Gets Boost
Ken Dryden's 16-city anti-poverty tour across Canada - the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) recommendations for a National Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness - Community Spotlight on Operation Go Home - What's New on Raising the Roof’s Shared Learnings on Homelessness Web site, etc.

* Nurturing the Next Wave of Housing Professionals
The theme of this year’s Tri-Country Conference, to be held in Toronto , October 14-17, is Creating a Modern Housing Policy: A Legacy for Tomorrow’s Leaders, which includes a sub-theme of tomorrow’s leadership and youth.

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE:
The Housing Again e-bulletin is distributed by e-mail free of charge monthly.
To subscribe or unsubscribe, log onto the main page at http://www.housingagain.web.net/
You'll see the Bulletin's subscribe/unsubscribe box at the bottom right hand of the page.

Related websites:

Shared Learnings on Homelessness
http://www.sharedlearnings.org

Raising the Roof
http://www.raisingtheroof.org/

---------------------------------------------------

Bulletin Archive - links to older issues back to #59 (March 2003)

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Housing Again Bulletin No. 94
September 5, 2006
The Housing Again Bulletin is sponsored by Raising the Roof as a partner in Housing Again.
A monthly electronic bulletin highlighting what people are doing to put housing back on the public agenda in Ontario, across Canada and around the world.
In this Issue:
- Feature: St. John’s Hosts First National Youth Homelessness Conference
- Community Profile: Helping Youth in Ottawa Access Jobs
- News Briefs: Walking Home 2006; SCPI Campaign

News for November 2005:
* Sweet New Affordable Housing in New Brunswick
* Urban Development Agreement Helps Build Affordable Housing in Vancouver
* New Deputy Minister Promises New National Housing Framework Soon
* Toronto Launches New Affordable Housing Office
* Hats Off..... It's Toque Time!
* Youth Works

Register to receive this bulletin by email

Related Links:

Raising the Roof
"Canada's only national charity dedicated to long-term solutions to homelessness"

Housing Again - "...a site dedicated to putting affordable housing back on the public agenda"
Putting Housing Back on the Public Agenda is a community group which brings together senior housing government officials, (past and present, elected and nonelected, from all levels of government), community housing proponents, housing developers, and others interested in affordable housing.

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Homeless Squeeze
May 21, 2002
"Secret video from a Toronto homeless shelter shows people packed into spaces tighter than United Nations standards for refugee camps."
Source : rabble.ca

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Messages from Queen’s Park positive, despite careful Throne Speech
November 21, 2003
"The Speech from the Throne, while short on specifics or funding information, reiterated some important housing commitments on the part of the Province, including more affordable housing, improvements in second-stage housing for victims of domestic abuse, new rent control legislation and help creating a new deal for cities."
Source:
Ontario Non-profit Housing Association (ONPHA)
For more links to info about the McGuinty Liberals' first Throne Speech, see the Canadian Social Research Links Ontario - Government Links page

ONPHA's Submission on the Social Union Framework (PDf file - 46K, 4 pages)
Oct. 21, 2002
"ONPHA speaks out on Canada's Social Union Framework and the future of affordable Housing. Read ONPHA's submission to federal and provincial governments reviewing SUFA."

ONPHA's Response to CMHC's Public Consultation on Housing Renovation Programs (PDF file - 95.5K, 16 pages)
Sept. 20, 2002
"Read OPHA's submission to CMHC on why the federal government should renew RRAP."