Homelessness and Housing

Les sans-abri et le logement

Updated December 8, 2009
Page révisée le 8 décembre 2009

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[ Go to Canadian Social Research Links Home Page ]

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Ontario's 'affordable' homes aren't affordable to those who need them the most: New report from auditor-general
December 7, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
More than half the new "affordable" housing funded by the Ontario government isn't really affordable to the households that need it the most. That's one of the devastating findings in the Ontario auditor-general's latest annual report, released today. "A provincial strategy is needed to define the Ministry [of Municipal Affairs and Housing's] roles, set measurable goals and program priorities, assess risks and options to manage the risks, determine the resources required, and measure the impact of the Ministry's contribution to social housing," urges the auditor-general - echoing the concerns and recommendations made by the Wellesley Institute (PDF - 396K, 7 pages), and many other partners in the Housing Network of Ontario to the Ontario government's consultation for a long-term housing strategy.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Related link:

2009 Annual Report:
Office of the Auditor General of Ontario
December 7, 2009
Complete report:
PDF version - 6MB, 494 pages
HTML version <=== table of contents with PDF links to 39 individual files (one per section); only the link to the social housing section appears below.

* Social Housing (PDF - 268K)
[ Related News Release (PDF - 131K, 1 page)]

[ All 17 news releases about this annual report ]

Source:
Office of the Auditor General of Ontario

News from national housing summit:
Ministers give themselves a collective pat on the back as millions suffer in poor homes
December 4, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
The official communiqué from the federal provincial and territorial housing ministers is little more than a collective pat on the back. The Ministers met Friday, December 4, in Gatineau for their first national housing summit since 2005. With a record 1.5 million Canadian households in core housing need, and another two million living in substandard housing, the comments about “significant progress” and “good progress” seem to fall short of the reality.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Pandemic Planning and Homelessness Research Network
As an extension of the Homeless Hub, this network allows people who are interested in homelessness and pandemic planning to come together in a collaborative on-line environment. This dynamic website features a library of resources and documents from governments and community agencies that can be accessed from one user-friendly site. Researchers, service providers, government officials and others are invited to share information and documents, participate in discussion forums, and collaborate on strategies to minimize the likelihood and impact of the spread of infectious disease among people who are homeless. To join, simply visit http://homelesshub.apps01.yorku.ca/network/cphrt, register and request membership. Once your membership has been confirmed, you will gain access to a large collection of pandemic plans, community documents, research articles, guides and best practices, and news articles from Canada and around the world.
For further information please contact Kristy Buccieri at kristy_buccieri@edu.yorku.ca

Source:
The Homeless Hub
[ www.homelesshub.net/ ]
This site is a supplement to the www.homelesshub.ca site and encourage as much online collaboration, networking and information-sharing among stakeholders doing work on homelessness and poverty-related issues as possible.

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.

New from
The Wellesley Institute:

Reality check: Ontario gives housing dollars with one hand, takes away with other
November 16, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Reality check: Ontario is indeed matching the 2009 federal affordable housing investments, as housing minister Jim Watson notes in a story in today's Toronto Star (“Nearly homeless struggle to hang on"), but the province has also been steadily cutting spending at the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing since 2005. Finance minister Dwight Duncan, in his October 22 fall economic update, (PDF - 1.7MB, 94 pages) reports spending at the housing ministry was $926 million in 2005 and is projected to be $703.9 million in 2009. That’s a cumulative cut of $657 in the past four years – which more than offsets the $585.3 million that the finance minister says the province will spend this year to match the federal housing dollars.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Communities Speak
A summary of the 2009 [Ontario] Provincial Housing Consultations (PDF - 653K, 15 pages)
November 2009
[ version française :
Les communautés parlent
Un résumé des consultations du logement de l’Ontario 2009 (PDF - 674Ko, 16 pages) ]

This Housing Network of Ontario report consolidates recommendations made by many hundreds of Ontarians who participated in almost 40 community meetings and consultations focussed on developing an affordable housing strategy, held from June to November 2009. The meetings included government-led consultations, convened by Minister Jim Watson and/or MPPs from ridings across the province. Meetings also included community-led forums with MPPs invited to participate, and public town hall meetings.

The main messages that emerged from these consultations included:

* Ontarians need a comprehensive, fully-funded long-term affordable housing strategy with bold targets.
* Housing insecurity, homelessness and poverty are inseparably linked.
* People with lived experience of housing insecurity and housing related poverty should be at the centre of any housing strategy.

Source:
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.

Parliament should pass Bill C-304; Canada urgently needs national housing plan
November 5, 2009
The time is right for Parliament to pass Bill C-304, which directs the federal housing minister to consult widely and develop a national affordable housing plan within 180 days. The Wellesley Institute’s Michael Shapcott offered expert testimony at the Commons HUMA committee on Nov. 5 on the four key reasons for a comprehensive national housing framework.

Michael Shapcott's speaking notes (PDF - 237K, 4 pages)
November 5, 2009

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.

Related links:

* Exciting news: Bill to create national housing plan passes second reading in House of Commons today (September 30, 2009)
* 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

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

Canada's Economic Action Plan 2009

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Homelessness Partnering Strategy (replaces the National Homelessness Initiative April 1, 2007)
- this link takes you further down on the page you're now reading

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Backgrounder : Housing and Homelessness
(...) Funding for the Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI), the housing renovation programs, including the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP), and the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) were set to expire on March 31, 2009. On September 4, 2008, the Government of Canada decided to set aside funding for housing and homelessness programs at $387.9 million per year for five years to March 31, 2014.
Source:
Human Resources and Social Development Canada

Related links:

Feds extend housing / homeless investments but freeze dollars
September 21, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Just three days before it triggered an election, the federal government quietly approved a five-year extension of Canada’s national housing and homelessness programs that were due to expire. But it has frozen the dollars despite growing need, according to a backgrounder from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on Friday.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ The Wellesley Institute ]

Tories to extend pre-announced housing programs
September 17, 2008
The Conservative Party re-announced a pledge of $1.9-billion to extend a trio of housing and homelessness programs Wednesday, money that had been set aside in the budget earlier this year. Monte Solberg, the outgoing Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, and John Baird, Minister of Environment, announced the five-year extension of the programs. The Affordable Housing Initiative (AHI), the Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) and the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS) would each have expired next March.
Source:
Globe and Mail

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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

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

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Help build a housing and homelessness map of Canada!
Share your local housing and homelessness stories
July 3, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Canada urgently needs a national housing plan – millions of Canadians are calling for one, and the United Nations has added its voice. The best national housing plan is built from the community up – a plan that identifies local housing and homelessness needs across the country, and pinpoints effective local housing and homeless initiatives that deserve support. (...) You can help build a national housing and homelessness plan from the community up by helping to build a national housing and homelessness map of Canada.(...)
[NOTE : click the link above to read the complete blog entry
for more detailed instructions on how to post information at the link below.]

Local Housing Initiatives Across Canada (Canadian Housing E-Map)
- part of the Wellesley Institute's state of the nation's housing 2009 initiative

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:

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 ]

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 ]

A Home for All [BC]
The Tyee's solutions-oriented series on affordable housing for working people.
February 2009
For too many British Columbians, having a job or even a two-income family is no longer enough to guarantee a basic, comfortable place to live -- in fact, the average Metro Vancouver earner can afford only half a home. In a market that isn't delivering a variety of cost-effective housing, Tyee investigative editor Monte Paulsen reports on how different approaches to finance, government policy and design could whittle the costs down to manageable proportions. And we invite experts to weigh in with their own opinion pieces.The challenge to the ongoing economic and cultural vibrancy of B.C. is critical. The conversation about overcoming that challenge starts here.

In this series:

Fixing the Crazy Cost of Housing
10 Feb 2009
Ordinary people in BC can no longer afford ordinary homes. First in a series searching for solutions.

Affordable Housing: Five Myths
12 Feb 2009
Betting on 'market correction'? Home prices would have to plunge 55 per cent to fit average family income.

Homes that Cost Less than Rental
17 Feb 2009
How a Toronto developer creates 'cost-effective' condos sold to families making as low as $32,000.

No Money Down Mortgages Still a Good Idea? This One Works
24 Feb 2009
Helping renters buy homes, leave social housing, makes space for others.

[ more articles on affordable housing in The Tyee ]

Source:
The Tyee
"In November of 2003 The Tyee began its swim upstream against the media trends of our day. We're independent and not owned by any big corporation. We're dedicated to publishing lively, informative news and views, not dumbed down fluff. We, like the tyee salmon for which we are named, roam free and go where we wish.

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

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

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

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

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Homeless in Canada: Resources
Homelessness in Canada: News & Reports

Recommended reading!

Source:
Intraspec.ca
"Intraspec.ca presents readings, writings and research on selected subjects, including AIDS reversal, astrology, blood-type diets, Enneagram, finding a doctor, homelessness and poverty in Canada (bolding added), influenza, job search, legal aid, medical marijuana, memes, personality types, Nordic Walking, nutrition, Ottawa walk-in clinics, and more." [excerpt from the site index]

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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

---

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]

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

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 ]

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

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

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

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.

-----

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:

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/

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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.

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

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."

Pre-Budget Submission To House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance Sept. 9, 2002

Where's Home? 2000 Update - Ontario
Complete update (PDF file - 199K, 5 pages)
Based on data from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, this study examines the rental market in Ontario and 21 municipalities. This study and last year's update extend the data from the 2 previous Where's Home? reports (released in 1999) to a 12 year period, making this the most comprehensive rental housing study in Ontario currently available. The 2000 Update is a project of the Housing Again web site partnership, and is co-sponsored by the Ontario Non-Profit Housing Association and the Ontario Region of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada.
Related links :
The Where's Home? Reports - A housing awareness project of Housing Again
Where's Home? A picture of housing needs in eight Ontario municipalities. 
Where's Home? Part 2 - Housing data on 13 additional Ontario municipalities. 
Annual updated data for the 21 Where's Home?cities and regions
1999 Update (PDF file - 166K, 4 pages)

A New Canadian Pastime? Counting Homeless People
J.David Hulchanski 
December 2000 
Addressing and preventing ‘homelessness’ is a political problem, not a statistical or definitional problem.

Categorizing Houselessness for Research and Policy Purposes: Absolute, Concealed and At Risk
J.David Hulchanski 
University of Toronto 
December 2000 
Homelessness or Houselessness?

Social Issues Now Dominate Polls about the Concerns of Canadians:
"House the Homeless" say 85% in Annual Maclean's Poll
Press Release 
December 25, 2000 

Where's Home? Part 2 (November 1999) is an extension of the housing data collection and analysis project that began with "Where's Home? A Picture of Housing Needs in Ontario" (May 1999). With Part 2, there are now detailed profiles of housing needs over the last 10 years for 21 Ontario municipalities (cities, municipal districts and regions). 

The 13 communities in Where's Home? Part 2 are Cornwall, Durham, Guelph, Kingston, London, Muskoka, Owen Sound, Sarnia, St. Catharines-Niagara, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, Timmins and Windsor. The cities in the first part were Barrie, Hamilton-Wentworth, Kitchener-Waterloo, North Bay, Ottawa-Carleton, Peel, Peterborough and Toronto. 
Among the findings: 
- one in four tenant households are at risk of homelessness. 
- in most parts of Ontario, tenant incomes are falling even as rents rise faster than inflation. 
- about 16,000 new rental units are needed annually according to CMHC, but almost no new affordable rental housing is being built. 
*Check out Housing Again's Online Housing Resources - Canadian and International. Awesome.

Canada and Ontario Ministers Commit to Co-Operation on Affordable Housing
November 18, 2003
"The Honourable Steven Mahoney, Secretary of State responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and the Honourable David Caplan, Ontario's Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal, have pledged to work together closely to create more affordable housing units under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Agreement."
Source:
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC)

Related Links:

Federal, Provincial and Territorial Agreements on Affordable Housing
Links to agreements signed between the Government of Canada and provinces and territories, and links to related online resources
CMHC Homelessness Resources
CMHC Affordable Housing Resources

Ontario Affordable Housing Program
[ Ministry of Municipal Affairs ]

Raising the Roof
"Raising the Roof is the only national charity in Canada dedicated to finding long-term solutions to homelessness"
Shared Learnings on Homelessness (from Raising the Roof)
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee
Housing Again - "...a site dedicated to putting affordable housing back on the public agenda"
Housing and Homelessness Network in Ontario
Housing Resources (from Settlement.org )

National Disaster Post (PDF file - 1.3MB, 8 pages)
Winter 2004 Edition
"This edition of the National Disaster Post, the newsletter of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, (...) has stories and articles related to housing and homelessness and has the latest listing of names of homeless men and women who have died."
Related Links:
Toronto Disaster Relief Committee (TDRC)
- TDRC Links to housing and homelessness resources - 50+ links to Canadian, American and international resources

From the Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton-Wentworth :

The Crisis of Homelessness in Hamilton-Wentworth
- incl. links to : Introduction - The Community Action Plan - Community Initiatives - Links - Guestbook

The Community Action Plan on Homelessness in Hamilton-Wentworth
PDF file - 484K, 113 pages
October 2000
Excellent report, includes information about a wide range of social issues, including : women's issues, disability issues, Aboriginal issues, food bank statistics, emergency shelter services, the Provincial Homelessness Initiative Fund, and much more...

The Rupert Coalition (Toronto) - (Rooming houses, boarding homes) "...to create new housing and ensure upgrades to existing housing for low income people"

Housing New Canadians is a research partnership focused on housing access and discrimination in the Toronto area, where about forty percent of all newcomers to Canada settle.
Housing New Canadians examines in detail how immigrants and refugees secure housing, whether their housing needs are met, and the quality, adequacy, and cost of the housing they occupy.
Bibliographies -- Housing and Immigrants - Housing Related Discrimination in Canada
Links to three dozen sites about immigration and settlement, housing (in several countries) and housing discrimination
Publications - links to a dozen online reports on housing and immigration dating back to 1994. You should check them all out, but here's one in particular that caught my attention :

Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions : The Human Right to Adequate Housing

A Chronology of United Nations Activity, 1945 to 1999
PDF file, 330K, 70 pages
February 2000

The Toronto Report Card on Homelessness 2000 -  "One year ago, in January 1999, the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force released its report, Taking Responsibility for Homelessness: An Action Plan for Toronto. The title reflects a key theme of the report: everyone, and every level of government, must take responsibility for solving this terrible social problem. Is homelessness getting better or worse?"
Source : City of Toronto

Taking Responsibility for Homelessness (PDF file - 1468 KB, 294 pages)
"The Golden Report"
January 1999
Complete Report
Source : City of Toronto

The Golden Report : Speech - Overview - Recommendations (PDF file - 202K, 28 pages)
January 1999
Anne Golden's comments on the release of the report, an overview of the report and the complete list of 105 recommendations, all in one file
Source :
United Way of Greater Toronto
- Social Issues - Check out this section of the United Way site - it's got links to the Social Services Bulletin ("Homelessness and the Federal Budget of March 2000"[small PDF file]), the speeches and writings of Anne Golden and United Way reports.

Toronto at a Turning Point: Demographic, Economic and Social Trends in Toronto
 November 1999

Street Wise : Health and Community Resources for Street Youth in the City of Toronto.
Listing of local social service agencies for youth in Toronto
Source:
The Drug Prevention Centre (Toronto)

----

Claims filed by single mothers at the Ontario Human Rights Commission charge
that the current maximum 'shelter allowance' discriminates against women and children
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) and
Advocacy Centre for Tenants Ontario (ACTO)
February 11, 2003
"Several women from across Ontario filed claims at the Ontario Human Rights Commission, charging that the current maximum 'shelter allowance' discriminates against women and children. The inadequacy of the shelter allowance makes it impossible for social assistance recipients to find and maintain housing in the private rental market."
Related Links:
Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation
Ontario Human Rights Commission

Voices: Experiences of Eviction in Ottawa
Report of follow-up interviews conducted by two Masters of Social Work Students from Carleton University with tenants who had been contacted by the CERA Ottawa Project
Source : Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation

Eviction Prevention - links to Voices: Experiences of Eviction in Ottawa - CERA's submissions to the provincial Standing Committee on General Government with respect to Bill
119, the "Red Tape Reduction Act" - Manufacturing Homelessness: An Op-Ed article on evictions and the Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal (June 30, 2000) - Final Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (April 2000) - Interim Report of the Early Intervention Pilot Project (November 1999)
The Early Intervention Project is an eviction and homelessness prevention strategy whereby tenants in receipt of eviction applications are contacted by mail and telephone and informed of their rights and obligations under the Tenant Protection Act. They are also referred to appropriate services such as their local legal clinic or Social Services to access the Shelter Fund.

Manitoba

From the Government of Manitoba:

May 21, 2009
Province launches homeless strategy with focus on mental-health housing
Up to 2,000 Manitobans to Benefit from 285 More Mental-health Housing Units, 600 to Benefit from New Portable Housing Benefit: Ministers
A new strategy to reduce and prevent homelessness will connect homeless people and those with mental-health challenges to stable, secure housing and support services, Healthy Living Minister Kerri Irvin-Ross and Family Services and Housing Minister Gord Mackintosh said today.
The HOMEWorks! homeless strategy includes 10 new initiatives in the following program areas:
* Emergency Shelters * Outreach * Housing with Services * Prevention

For more information on Manitoba's HOMEWorks! Homeless Strategy homeless strategy, go to the
ALL Aboard: Manitoba’s Poverty Reduction Strategy home page, where you'll find links (in the right-hand margin) to:
* Homeless Shelters * Emergency Homeless Shelter Standards * The Salvation Army Project * Cold Weather Strategy * Homeless Outreach Team * Project Breakaway * Housing with Services * Portable Housing Benefit * Community Wellness Initiative * Homelessness Prevention Summit * Housing First * The Mental Health Commission of Canada * Housing and Supports for People with Mental Illness * Contacts

Related links:

$212 million to battle poverty
Province to place greater emphasis on housing needs
May 22, 2009
WINNIPEG — After years of sniping from left-wing critics that it has done too little to fight poverty, the Doer government fired back Thursday with a new "comprehensive" strategy that brought kudos from social agencies and business leaders alike. The province announced it has earmarked $212 million in new funding this year for bricks-and-mortar projects, as well as programming for low-income Manitobans.
It also signalled a change in how it deals with people with mental-health issues and addictions, placing greater emphasis on housing. The "housing first" approach means the government will try to put a roof over a person's head before offering other supports.
Source:
Winnipeg Free Press

---

“We got evicted..did I leave that out?”
Stories of Housing and Mental Health (PDF - 1.4MB, 52 pages)
By Ian Skelton and Richard Mahé
February 2009
This study begins to explore ways of supporting processes of community transformation through enhancing the provision of housing and supports for people living with mental illness. In particular, the study is concerned with factors that mediate between individuals living with mental illness and the broader social environment. (...) In-depth, face-to-face interviews were held over the summer of 2008 in Winnipeg
with people living with mental illness, family members with responsibility for giving care and key informants. This report attempts to portray experiences of housing and mental health as recounted by the interview participants.
Source:
Manitoba Office - Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
[ More publications from CCPA-Manitoba ]

---

Panhandling should not be criminalized, says study
Press Release
September 20, 2007
Restrictions on peaceful panhandling—such as City of Winnipeg Bylaw No. 128/2005—constitute an illegitimate use of state power, says a study released today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The study, by Arthur Schafer, director of the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba, says there is no moral or legal justification for turning peaceful beggars into criminals.

Complete report:

The Expressive Liberty of Beggars:
Why it matters to them, and to us (PDF file - 282K, 28 pages)
Source:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

Saskatchewan

Minister accepts report from task force on housing affordability
News Release
June 5, 2008
Social Services Minister Donna Harpauer today accepted a report from the Task Force on Housing Affordability, which outlines several recommendations about how to improve the affordability of housing within the province. The report, prepared by Ted Merriman and Bob Pringle, is the result of consultations with residents of 16 Saskatchewan communities. In total, 85 individuals, groups and organizations were consulted and 53 written submissions were received.
Source:
Government of Saskatchewan

Complete report:

Affordable Housing: An Investment
Report of The Task Force on Housing Affordability
June 2008
Source:
Task Force on Housing Affordability
[ Saskatchewan Social Services ] .

Calgary Homeless Foundation
"[T]he Foundation provides capital funding for housing projects and has committed itself to providing the vehicle for community consultation on homelessness issues and community collaboration on solutions."

Also from Calgary Community Strategies:

Community Social Statistics
The Community Social Statistical Profiles have been updated with the most recent data available for each residential community in Calgary (using data from Statistics Canada's 2001 census and from the 2003 Calgary Civic Census).

Related Alberta Links:

Cities, advocates rush to find solutions as homelessness worsens in Alberta
November 03, 2006
"Alberta housing crisis --- a few numbers:
50,000 - The number of people who moved to Alberta between January and March this year.
458 per cent - Growth in number of homeless people in Calgary since 1996.
5,000 - Immediate number of housing units needed in Edmonton.
75 per cent - Highest estimate of the number of homeless in Red Deer shelter who are employed.
58,000 - Estimated number of households in Calgary that can't afford housing."
Source:
Canada.com

City hall could shelter homeless at night: mayor [Calgary]
November 1, 2006
Calgary's mayor says city hall could be used as temporary lodging for homeless people left in the cold, snowy streets at night because overwhelmed shelters are full.
Source:
CBC News Calgary

Edmonton print shop to house city's homeless
October 31, 2006
A former City of Edmonton print shop will become an emergency shelter this winter as part of the city's plan for dealing with a growing homelessness population. City council approved the $1.4 million plan Tuesday afternoon, saying emergency shelters are expecting a 50 per cent increase in people seeking help this winter.
Source:
CBC News Edmonton

Edmonton Housing Trust Fund
"The Edmonton Housing Trust Fund (EHTF) was established in October of 1999 by the Edmonton Coalition on Homelessness Society to address the growing concern over the availability of affordable housing sufficient to meet the needs of the city of Edmonton’s lower-income and special needs citizens."
October 2002 homeless count (PDF file - 296K, 12 pages)

Homelessness - Greater Vancouver Regional District
"People have been homeless throughout Greater Vancouver for many years, but until recently little reliable information was available on the size and nature of this population. (...) Now, research data is available on people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness in Greater Vancouver."
- incl. links to : Regional Homelessness Plan - Research Data - Maps and Graphics - Links - Contact Us
Source : Greater Vancouver Regional District

From the Canada West Foundation (CWF) :

A Roof Over Our Heads: Affordable Housing and Urban Growth in Western Canada
October 2000
Check the CWF Publications page for links to full copies (in PDF format) of over 50 reports dating back to early 1997.

Canadian Urban Institute

Plan d'action du Canada sur les sans-abri : Selon le FRAPRU, "la balloune de la ministre Bradshaw se dégonfle"
Le 2 juin 2000
(not available in English)
Source: Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain - FRAPRU

Mayors to PM : Homelessness & Environment Top Priorities in Canadian Communities
Press Release
Federation of Canadian Municipalities
February 7, 2000

Manitoba Ministers Critical of Federal Homelessness Announcement
Housing Biggest Shelter Concern
December 17, 1999

New Brunswick
Province to receive $2.4 million to fight homelessness - December 23, 1999

Mayors of Canada's largest cities call for national housing strategy, stringent standards to improve air quality, national strategy on transportation
FCM Big City Mayors Caucus
LONDON (ON), April 28, 2000 -- Eighteen months after declaring homelessness a national disaster, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Big City Mayors' Caucus today once again called on all orders of government to work cooperatively in developing a comprehensive National Housing Strategy....more

A Profile of Poverty in Mid-Sized Alberta Cities
January 2000
Canadian Council on Social Development

Canada

Federation of Canadian Municipalities

Federation of Canadian Municipalities report says
affordable housing still scarce in Canada's cities
OTTAWA, Jan. 16 – Despite increased levels of homeownership, finding an affordable place to live is still a challenge for the most vulnerable in Canada’s big cities.
This was one of the principal findings of the fourth theme report in FCM’s Quality of Life series, Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing &Homelessness, released today in Ottawa. The report, looks at affordable housing and homelessness between 2001 and 2006 in the 22 large and medium-sized municipalities and urban regions that make up the Quality of Life Reporting System.

2008 Quality of Life (QOL) Report:
Trends & Issues in Affordable Housing & Homelessness (PDF file - 3.6MB, 40 pages)
January 2008
This publication, the fourth theme report published by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities as part of the Quality of Life Reporting System (QOLRS), focuses on trends related to housing and homelessness in 22 large and medium-sized municipalities and urban regions in Canada. The report's focus is the period 2000-2006, with some reference to trends dating back to 1991.
Source:
FCM Quality of Life Reports
[ Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)]

Logement et pauvreté au Québec (1998) - Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)

For a Major Re-Investment by the Federal Government in the Development of Social Housing
Brief Presented to the Standing Committee on Finance
Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)
November 16, 1999

United States

Homes Not Handcuffs: The Criminalization
of Homelessness in U.S. Cities (PDF - 811K, 194 pages)
July 2009
Homes Not Handcuffs is the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty’s (NLCHP) ninth report on the criminalization of homelessness and the National Coalition for the Homeless’ (NCH) fifth report on the topic. The report documents cities with the worst record related to criminalizing homelessness, as well as initiatives in some cities that constitute more constructive approaches to street homelessness. The report includes the results of research regarding laws and practices in 273 cities around the country; as well as descriptions of lawsuits from various jurisdictions in which those measures have been challenged.
[ News Release - July 14/09 ]

Sources:

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP)
The mission of NLCHP is to prevent and end homelessness by serving as the legal arm of the nationwide movement to end homelessness.
[ NLCHP Publications ]

The National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH)
The National Coalition for the Homeless is a national network of people who are currently experiencing or who have experienced homelessness, activists and advocates, community-based and faith-based service providers, and others committed to a single mission. That mission, our common bond, is to end homelessness.
[ NCH Publications ]

Related link:

Is It Now a Crime to Be Poor?
By Barbara Erenreich
August 8, 2009
It’S too bad so many people are falling into poverty at a time when it’s almost illegal to be poor. You won’t be arrested for shopping in a Dollar Store, but if you are truly, deeply, in-the-streets poor, you’re well advised not to engage in any of the biological necessities of life — like sitting, sleeping, lying down or loitering. City officials boast that there is nothing discriminatory about the ordinances that afflict the destitute, most of which go back to the dawn of gentrification in the ’80s and ’90s. “If you’re lying on a sidewalk, whether you’re homeless or a millionaire, you’re in violation of the ordinance,” a city attorney in St. Petersburg, Fla., said in June, echoing Anatole France’s immortal observation that “the law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges.”
Source:
New York Times

NOTE:
The above article by Barbara Erenreich is the third in a series; links to her two earlier op-eds appear below.
[You must register as a NY Times member to access the content below; it's free, and they won't send you any SPAM nor share your email address.]

* A Homespun Safety Net
By Barbara Erenreich
July 12, 2009

* Too Poor to Make the News
By Barbara Erenreich
June 14, 2009

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

New from The National Coalition for the Homeless (U.S.):

New Report Documents 10 Years of Anti-Homeless Violence
Press release
August 7
Washington, DC– Today the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) released the 2008 numbers of hate crimes and violent attacks against people experiencing homelessness. The numbers are from a new report entitled Hate, Violence, And Death on Main Street USA, 2008.
Key findings include:
* The total number of attacks for 2008: 106.
* The number of fatal attacks is the second highest since 2001: 27 deaths.
* 73 percent of the attacks were committed by individuals who were ages 25 and younger.
* Florida ranked #1 for the fourth year in a row for most attacks, California was second.

The new report:

Hate, Violence, and Death on Main Street USA:
A report on Hate Crimes and Violence Against People Experiencing Homelessness, 2008
August 2009
HTML version - table of contents and links to each chapter
PDF version (2.7MB, 98 pages)

[ All NCH Publications ]

Source:
The National Coalition for the Homeless

Media coverage:

Attacks on Homeless Bring Push on Hate Crime Laws
By Eric Lichtblau
August 7, 2009
WASHINGTON — With economic troubles pushing more people onto the streets in the last few years, law enforcement officials and researchers are seeing a surge in unprovoked attacks against the homeless, and a number of states are considering legislation to treat such assaults as hate crimes. This October, Maryland will become the first state to expand its hate-crime law to add stiffer penalties for attacks on the homeless. At least five other states are pondering similar steps, the District of Columbia approved such a measure this week, and a like bill was introduced last week in Congress.A report due out this weekend from the National Coalition for the Homeless documents a rise in violence over the last decade, with at least 880 unprovoked attacks against the homeless at the hands of nonhomeless people, including 244 fatalities. (...) Sometimes, researchers say, one homeless person attacks another in turf battles or other disputes. But more often, they say, the assailants are outsiders: men or in most cases teenage boys who punch, kick, shoot or set afire people living on the streets, frequently killing them, simply for the sport of it, their victims all but invisible to society.|
Source:
The New York Times

---

'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)

Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

Related links:

Housing Duress Continues Despite Signs of a Bottom in Housing Sales and Starts:
Harvard Releases the 2009 State of the Nation’s Housing Report
June 22, 2009
Press Release
(New York) The worst housing downturn in generations continues to grind on, finds a study released today by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Despite some stabilization in homebuilding and home sales in the spring, real home prices continued to fall and foreclosures mount in most areas in the first quarter of the 2009.

Source:
Joint Center for Housing Studies
The Joint Center for Housing Studies is Harvard University's center for information and research on housing in the United States. The Joint Center analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends, providing leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and strategies.

National Low Income Housing Coalition
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

States cope with rising homelessness (U.S.)
March 18, 2009
By Christine Vestal
Nearly 700 homeless families in Massachusetts are living in hotels at state expense because emergency shelters are full. New York City saw a 40 percent rise in families seeking shelter since the recession began. School districts nationwide reported more homeless kids in the fall of 2008 than the entire year before. And tent cities have sprung up throughout Hawaii and in Sacramento, Calif., Reno, Nev., Phoenix, Portland, Ore., and other cities. (...) State officials are seeing levels of homelessness they have never seen before. President Barack Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package includes $1.5 billion to address the problem, but officials say it’s not enough to cover the cost of housing for millions of families in crisis. As many as 3.4 million Americans are likely to experience homelessness this year – a 35 percent increase since the recession started in December 2007 – and a majority will be families with children, according to a report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The predictions are based on rising levels of unemployment and poverty, plus a severe shortage of affordable housing created, in part, by the mortgage industry collapse.
Source:
Stateline.org
Stateline.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan online news site that practices journalism in the public interest by reporting on emerging trends and issues in state policy and politics.

Related links:

Homelessness Counts:
Changes in Homelessness from 2005 to 2007
12 January 2009
Source:
National Alliance to End Homelessness
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nonpartisan, mission-driven organization committed to preventing and ending homelessness in the United States.

Rates of Homelessness and Programs for the Homeless in the U.S.:
--- In Boston, house calls for the homeless. (BOSTON, MA) - By Katie Zezima, New York Times. November 10, 2008
--- Nation's homeless czar says helping the homeless also helps taxpayers - By Kate Santich, Orlando Sentinel. November 13, 2008
--- Family homelessness rising in the United States - By Ross Colvin, Reuters.com. November 12, 2008
--- Dane County homeless families recorded longer stays at the Salvation Army shelter in 2007. (WISCONSIN) - By Karen Rivedal, Wisconsin State Journal. November 13, 2008
--- New solutions sought as homeless ranks grow. (DETROIT, MI) - By Gregg Krupa, Detroit News. November 13, 2008
Source:
November 13, 2008 edition - Poverty Dispatch
[ Poverty Dispatch (U.S). ===> the content of this link changes twice a week ]
[ Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) ]
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

Housing & Mortgages for People with Disabilities
This guide has been created to help individuals living with disabilities, and their family members, in the process of buying a home of their own. Here you can learn more about the five important steps in buying a home and about financial assistance programs that are available for you living with disabilities, who want to buy a home.
After reading this guide to home ownership for people living with disabilities, you will know more about:
* The advantages and disadvantages of buying a home
* The most important steps in the home-buying process
* Common terms related to home-buying
* How to get started in your quest to purchase a home
* Financial assistance geared toward enabling you living with disabilities to buy your own homes
Source:
MortgageLoan.com

HUD REPORTS DROP IN THE NUMBER OF CHRONICALLY HOMELESS PERSONS
More resources and better reporting contribute to annual declines
News Release
July 29, 2008
WASHINGTON – Last year, nearly 32,000 fewer persons lived on the nation's streets and in emergency shelters. That's according to a new report released today by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that points to a 15 percent average yearly reduction in chronic homelessness since 2005.

The Third Annual Homeless Assessment
Report to Congress (PDF - 2.1MB, 144 pages)
July 2008
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Office of Community Planning and Development

Earlier related reports - includes the first two homelessness reports and over a dozen related reports

Overview of HUD Homeless and Housing Programs

Source:
Homelessness Resource Exchange
[ U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ]

-----

Related links from the July 31 Poverty Dispatch:
(Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP)
[ University of Wisconsin-Madison ]

*Drop in homeless count seen as 'success story'
By Wendy Koch, USA Today
July 28, 2008

* U.S. reports drop in homeless population
By Rachel L. Swarns, New York Times
July 30, 2008

* Chronic homeless population down 15%, U.S. says
By Vimal Patel, Los Angeles Times
July 30, 2008

* Numbers of homeless drop, but some question data
By Michael Amon, Newsday
July 30, 2008

* Defining 'Homelessness Down'
By Nathan Thornburgh, Time Magazine
July 30, 2008

U.S. Mayors examine causes of hunger, homelessness (small PDF file - 2 pages)
News release
December 17, 2007
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Sodexho, Inc. released today the results of its 2007 Hunger and Homelessness Survey at a press conference at the Conference of Mayors Headquarters in Washington, D.C. For more than 21 years, the Conference of Mayors has documented the magnitude of the issues of hunger and homelessness in our nation’s cities. This report provides an analysis of the scale of the problem in twenty-three of America’s major cities (listed below) and the efforts these cities are making to address the issue.
Source:
The U.S. Conference of Mayors
Sodexho USA

Complete report:

2007 U.S. Hunger and Homelessness Report (PDF file - 983K, 72 pages)
December 2007

First Nationwide Estimate of Homeless Population in a Decade Announced:
Approximately 744,313 people homeless on a single night.
News Release
January 11, 2007
Washington—There were 744,313 people homeless in January 2005 according to Homelessness Counts, the first national assessment of the number of homeless people in over a decade. The report was released today by the Homelessness Research Institute of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. This estimate, a compilation of point-in-time counts collected by local Continuums of Care, provides data on every state and community in the country.

Complete report:

Homelessness Counts (PDF | 1.51 MB | 48 pages)
Homelessness Counts-Appendix B Methodology Supplement (PDF | 84 KB | 2 pages)
Homelessness Counts-Appendix B Supplement 1 (PDF | 93 KB | 48 pages)
Homelessness Counts-Appendix B Supplement 2 (PDF | 79 KB | 20 pages)

Source:
National Alliance to End Homelessness

Related Link:

Of 744,000 homeless estimated in US, 41 percent are in families
By Stephen Ohlemacher, Associated Press
January 11, 2007
WASHINGTON -- There were 744,000 homeless people in the United States in 2005, according to the first national estimate in a decade. A little more than half were living in shelters, and nearly a quarter were chronically homeless, according to the report yesterday by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an advocacy group.
Source:
Boston Globe

American Housing Survey for the United States: 2005 (PDF file - 4MB, 616 pages)
Issued August 2006
"This report presents data from the American Housing Survey, which was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau."

American Housing Survey - home page, includes links to : What's New - Briefs and Research Papers - Definitions and Terms - How American Housing Survey Data are Collected - Find out more about the Surveys used to obtain American Housing Survey Data - American Housing Survey Data (National Data, Metropolitan Data , Data Corrections) - AHS Data Access - Links to Related Sites - Frequently Asked Questions - Data Quality and Processing

Source:
U.S. Census Bureau

Poor and Homeless Continue to Face Major Challenges in Urban Areas - U.S. ===> October 12, 2005 Crowded Out By Luxury Lofts, Poor Seek Relief http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-downtown12oct12,0,2051236.story?coll=la-home-local Polk Gulch cleanup angers some http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/12/POLKSTREET.TMP Nation taking a new look at homelessness, solutions http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-10-11-homeless-cover_x.htm Study: U.S. poor trapped in urban areas http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/12/poverty.study.ap/index.html Katrina’s Window: Confronting Concentrated Poverty Across America [pdf] http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20051012_concentratedpoverty.htm United States Interagency Council on Homelessness [pdf] http://www.ich.gov/ "As the recent tragedy wrought by Hurricane Katrina revealed, poor and homeless residents of America’s cities remain particularly vulnerable. Whether it is the phenomenon of gentrification or the world of natural hazards, many continue to remain marginalized in terms of opportunities, whether they be economic or otherwise. This week, a number of news pieces once again reminded the general public about the precarious situation faced by this group. In Los Angeles, the City Council decided to impose the first limits on the luxury loft and condo boom that is gradually pushing out single-room-occupancy hotels, most of which are concentrated in the city’s downtown area. While this type of creeping development may affect the poor in increasingly popular urban places, less successful cities continue to have many neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. As a report from the Brookings Institution released this week noted, poor planning over the past several decades has continued to concentrate public housing at the urban core. Generally, the end result is that many urban dwellers remain cut off from the rapid economic and housing growth that has been experienced around the urban fringe. [KMG] The first link will lead users to a nice article from this Wednesday’s Los Angeles Times that discusses the recent action taken by the City Council. The second link leads visitors to a San Francisco Chronicle article that discusses the recent trend towards gentrification in the city’s Polk Gulch neighborhood. The third link leads to a USA Today article from this past Monday, which talks about how the recent Hurricane Katrina tragedy may transform certain aspects of addressing the homelessness situation in the country. The fourth link will take visitors to a CNN news piece, which talks about the recent report from the Brookings Institution that examines the concentration of urban poverty throughout a number of US cities. The fifth link leads to the full text of that report, authored by Alan Berube. The final link will take users to the homepage of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. [KMG]" Source: The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2005. http://scout.wisc.edu/ NOTE: The Scout Report is a weekly newsletter that's available by e-mail or online. Just go to the Scout Report site to check out the current issue as well as back issues, and to sign up for the e-mail edition.

Miscellaneous U.S. housing links:

Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report
on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities (PDF file - 810K, 133 pages)
December 2004
"To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in America’s cities during 2004, The U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 27 major cities whose mayors were members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on 1) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter and the capacity of local agencies to meet that demand; 2) the causes of hunger and homelessness and the demographics of the populations experiencing these problems; 3) exemplary programs or efforts in the cities to respond to hunger and homelessness; 4) the availability of affordable housing for low income people; and 5) the outlook or the future and the impact of the economy on hunger and homelessness."

Press Release (PDF file - 58K, 3 pages)
December 12, 2004

Source:
U.S. Conference of Mayors

Related Links:

Hunger, homelessness on rise
December 15, 2004
"Hunger and homelessness continue to rise nationwide with requests for emergency food assistance increasing in 97 percent of the cities surveyed including Nashville, according to the Sodexho USA Hunger and Homelessness Survey. The U.S. Conference of Mayors released the 27-city survey in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. An average of 20 percent of the requests for food assistance have gone unmet and 78 percent of the surveyed cities reported a 7 percent increase in requests for shelter by homeless families."
Source:
Nashville City Paper Online

And the "rose-coloured glasses " analysis of the same survey:

Survey: Good news in fight against hunger, homelessness
December 15, 2004
"Washington - Requests for emergency food and shelter increased in many large U.S. cities this year, but not by as much as in recent years, according to a survey released Tuesday. Requests for food rose by 14 percent, while appeals for shelter increased by 6 percent, said the annual report by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, based on surveys of 27 large cities. The numbers have risen every year since the conference began the survey 20 years ago. However, the rate of increase for food requests was the lowest since 1998. The rate of increase for shelter requests was less than half what it was in 2003, and the lowest since 1997.
Source:
The Plain Dealer

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Report targets escalating civil rights abuses
against homeless people and identifies "meanest" cities
News Release
November 9, 2004
"WASHINGTON, DC- Today the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) releases Illegal to be Homeless: The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States, the most comprehensive study of homeless civil rights violations. This study is also the most up-to-date survey of current laws that criminalize homeless people and ranks the top 'meanest' cities and states in the country. This report examines legislated ordinances and statutes, as well as law enforcement and community practices since August of 2003."

Complete report:

Illegal to be Homeless:
The Criminalization of Homelessness in the United States
November 2004

PDF version (1.5MB, 118 pages)

HTML version
Introduction (Introduction - Background - Methodology - Problem Statement/Consequences of Criminalization - Model Programs - Conclusions & Recommendations
Data from Surveyed Cities (Cities Included in this Report - Meanest Cities - Narratives of the Meanest Cities - Narratives of the Other Cities -Prohibited Conduct Chart)
Appendices ( Survey Questions - Incident Report Forms - Sources)

Source:
National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH)
- incl. links to : Home | Join NCH | Donate to NCH | What YOU Can Do | Homeless...Need Help? | Facts about Homelessness | What's New | Legislation and Policy | Alerts | About NCH | NCH Projects | Speakers' Bureau | LeTendre Education Fund | Personal Experiences of Homelessness | Calendar of Events | Directories | Internet Resources | K-12 Educational Materials | Publications | Job Announcements | Contact NCH

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Interagency Council on Homelessness - U.S.
"Given the complex nature of addressing such a broad problem as that of homelessness, it is not so surprising that there exists a federal initiative in the United States to collaborate on "out of the box" approaches to alleviating this situation. In 1987, with the passage of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, Congress established the Interagency Council on Homelessness in order to provide organized leadership in the area of providing assistance to homeless families and individuals. From the homepage, visitors can read about the Council's latest activities, then continue on to learn about funding opportunities and information from states and local municipalities on their own homelessness-based initiatives. Specifically, visitors can learn about the various regional coordinators employed by the Council, and read some rather ambitious 10-year plans to end chronic homelessness adopted by cities such as Columbus, Ohio, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Chicago"
Site Review:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2003

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Homelessness
- "...primarily a portal to other useful information, including a link to the strategic plan of the US Department of Health and Human Services to end chronic homelessness, a link to "Blueprint for Change" that summarizes effective services and strategies to address homelessness among those with behavioral health problems, FirstStep--an interactive website that helps determine what Federal assistance programs may be available to assist homeless persons, and Practical Lessons--a conference publication summarizing research literature on homelessness and housing as of 1999."
(link suggestion received via e-mail)
Source:
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
[ U.S. Department of Health & Human Services ]

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Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
- incl. links to:
- HUD news - Newsroom - Priorities - About HUD
- Homes (Buying - Owning - Selling - Renting - Homeless - Home improvements - HUD homes - Fair housing - FHA refunds - Foreclosure - Consumer info)
- Communities ( About communities - Volunteering - Organizing - Economic development
- Working with HUD (Grants - Programs - Contracts - Work online - HUD jobs - Complaints)
- Resources (Library - Handbooks/ forms - Common questions)
- Tools (Let's talk - Webcasts - Mailing lists)

Homelessness
Great collection of resources for homeless people and for those who want to help the homeless...
- incl. Housing - Food - Jobs/job training - Health care - Social Security benefits - Homeless veterans
- federal programs to help the homeless - incl. Housing - Food - Education - Health Care - Social Security - Jobs - Homeless Children
Homelessness Resources - from the HUD Library

Housing Choice Voucher Program Fact Sheet (Section 8)
"The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments. The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects."
Source:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Cuomo Releases Historic Report that Paints Most Comprehensive Picture ever of Homelessness in America
Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (Click the link above to read the press release)
December 8, 1999
Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve
Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients
December 1999
- SUMMARY REPORT
- TECHNICAL REPORT
- HIGHLIGHTS REPORT
Source: Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Homeless Resources

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National Health Care for the Homeless Council (NHCHC)
The National Health Care for the Homeless Council is a membership organization of health care providers working with homeless people across the United States. The Council exists to help bring about reform of the health care system to best serve the needs of people who are homeless. The National Council home page contains reports, policy papers, clinical information, two newsletters, links to health and homelessness sites, and a forum for members.

Homelessness Resources on the Web (from the NHCHC)
- links to 40+ sites organized under the following headings: Government | Housing | Homelessness | Health | Policy & Advocacy

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America's Neighbors: The Affordable Housing Crisis and the People it Affects (PDF file - 286K, 21 pages)
- from the National Low Income Housing Coalition - February 2004

U.S. Conference of Mayors - Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey 2003 Hunger, Homelessness Still On the Rise in Major U.S. Cities; 25-City Survey Finds Unemployment, Lack of Affordable Housing Account for Increased Needs Press Release December 18, 2003 "Washington, DC -- Hunger and homelessness continued to rise in major American cities over the last year, according to the new U.S. Conference of Mayors-Sodexho Hunger and Homelessness Survey, released today at the Conference of Mayors Headquarters. As the overall economy remained weak, requests for emergency food assistance increased by an average of 17 percent over the past year, and requests for emergency shelter assistance increased by an average of 13 percent in the 25 cities surveyed." Hunger and Homelessness Survey: A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities A 25-City Survey (PDF file - 802K, 121 pages) December 2003 Sources: U.S. Conference of Mayors Sodexho USA "the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States"

Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty (Los Angeles)
"The Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty, a project of the Weingart Center, is a non-profit, non-partisan, research and policy organization serving the research and networking needs of academics, government, community based direct service agencies, policy-advocacy organizations, the media, philanthropic organizations, policymakers and other members of the community involved with the issues of homelessness and poverty. The Institute is strategically situated on Skid Row at the Weingart Center, the largest homeless service organization in Los Angeles, with more than 15 years of experience helping men and women break the cycle of homelessness."

Homelessness in America
EPIC Alerts Public to Homeless Tracking System:
Proposed guidelines to create a homeless tracking database called "Homeless Management Information Systems" present serious risks to civil liberties.
Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) Data and Technical Standards Notice (PDF file - 225K, 26 pages)
- July 2003 guidelines
EPIC Homeless Tracking Fact Sheet - (PDF file - 53K, 2 pages)
August 2003
NOTE: EPIC is urging the public to send comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in opposition to HMIS (until September 22, 2003).
Further info is available in the above fact sheet.
Source :
Poverty and Privacy
[ Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) ] - U.S.

National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2002 Advocates' Guide (U.S.)
"Serving as a primary resource for any and all parties interested in "ending America's affordable housing crisis," the National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2002 Advocates' Guide is offered by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a member-supported organization whose sole purpose is helping ensure that everyone in America has access to affordable housing in "decent, healthy environments." Toward that end, the Advocate's Guide provides an extensive array of links to vital services and agencies. Among the resources listed in the Advocate's Guide are numerous government reports on health and safety conditions and guidelines for housing of every variety, both public and private. Beyond such essential information, however, the guide also addresses concerns of special groups and populations, including women, minorities, the homeless, those affected by AIDS or other debilitating diseases, and those living in rural areas. The Advocates' Guide both fully discloses housing rights and serves as a channel to further sources of aid, guidance, and advocacy."
Reviewed by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001

Urban Homelessness and Public Policy Solutions: A One Day Conference - U.S.
This conference was held on January 22, 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley.
Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center
Los Angeles
- includes a downloadable version of the conference briefing book :
Homelessness in Urban America: A Review of the Literature (2000) PDF format, 165K, 74 pages of excellent recent information on homelessness in America (not just bibliographic references!)

The National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness
Under contract to the Center for Mental Health Services, DHHS
The National Resource Center on Homelessness and Mental Illness maintains and updates a bibliographic database on homelessness and mental illness. The Center publishes a series of annotated bibliographies, substantive papers, and an organizational referral list.

Homelessness Among Veterans - homeless assistance programs and initiatives
Source : US Department of Veteran Affairs

Homelessness Links
Hundreds of links to organizations, reports, fact sheets, programs, and more...
Source:
Economic Success Clearinghouse (formerly Welfare Information Network)

National Survey on Homelessness
Homelessness: Programs and the People They Serve
Findings of the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients
Summary Report
December 7, 1999
The Urban Institute
This is a large report that will take a long time to download, but it's well worth the wait. Includes demographic characteristics (sex - race/ethnicity - age - marital status - education - veteran status),  as well as information about: the children of homeless clients - income - employment - comparisons of clients from central cities, suburbs, and rural areas - comparisons with 1987 Urban Institute findings, and much, much more...

International Union of Gospel Missions
Check out the site map of this rich site for links to information about homelessness (including statistical information back to 1994), welfare reform, Internet resources, news and events, etc.
- incl.  11th Annual Snap Shot Survey of the Homeless - Fall 1999

National Coalition for the Homeless is a national advocacy network of homeless persons, activists, service providers, and others committed to ending homelessness.

National Low Income Housing Coalition offers issue papers, legislative and policy updates, and information on housing issues, State coalitions, and conferences.

National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2002 Advocates' Guide (U.S.)
"Serving as a primary resource for any and all parties interested in "ending America's affordable housing crisis," the National Low Income Housing Coalition: 2002 Advocates' Guide is offered by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a member-supported organization whose sole purpose is helping ensure that everyone in America has access to affordable housing in "decent, healthy environments." Toward that end, the Advocate's Guide provides an extensive array of links to vital services and agencies. Among the resources listed in the Advocate's Guide are numerous government reports on health and safety conditions and guidelines for housing of every variety, both public and private. Beyond such essential information, however, the guide also addresses concerns of special groups and populations, including women, minorities, the homeless, those affected by AIDS or other debilitating diseases, and those living in rural areas. The Advocates' Guide both fully discloses housing rights and serves as a channel to further sources of aid, guidance, and advocacy."
Reviewed by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2001

HomeBase
Located in San Francisco, California, HomeBase's mission is to end homelessness, prevent its recurrence, and decrease its effects on communities. The HomeBase web site contains research and technical assistance publications, policy briefs, and other information on homelessness nationally and in California.

Homeless Home Page
Contains archives from the HOMELESS electronic discussion list, as well as research papers, program descriptions, and many other resources.

Homeless News Service
The first global news service for homeless newspapers (newspapers operated by, distributed or sold by, and or written by homeless and formerly homeless persons).

Homeless People and the Internet
This web site discusses why the Internet is an important resource for homeless people. It includes tips for finding free, public-access to the Internet and describes online resources for homeless persons. The web site also contains information on self-help and continuing education.

Homeless People's Network
The Homeless People's Network (HPN) is an email discussion list for homeless and formerly homeless persons. The web page contains archives from the discussion list and instructions for subscribing.

National Alliance to End Homelessness (NAEH)
The National Alliance to End Homelessness is a nationwide federation of public, private, and nonprofit organizations that form a powerful network of concerned individuals and organizations advancing practical, realistic, community-based solutions that build a better future for generations to come. The NAEH is a nonprofit membership organization dedicated to solving the problems of homelessness and to preventing its continued growth. The Alliance web page contains information on programs, practices, legislation, and NAEH activities.

Tedrico's Page Homelessness Resource Links
Homelessness, hitchhiking, panhandling, and homeless programs head the discussion at Tedrico's Page, along with statistics, links to shelters & soup kitchens, pictures of homeless people and their stories, articles & tips, veteran resources, volunteering opportunities, online games, and more.

Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America's community-based service organizations offer more than 160 different programs that help people -- including children, youth, the elderly, families in crisis, the homeless, people with disabilities or mental illness, and ex-offenders returning to society. The web site describes program activities and provides a listing of VOA local affiliates.

The National Coalition for the Homeless
A national advocacy network of homeless persons, activists, service providers, and others committed to ending homelessness.

Food Not Bombs Archive and Current Events
Containing a list of chapters, digested fnb-l mailing list archive, news, and press.
Peace Tree
Peace Tree exists to provide links to the myriad of resources available on the 'net devoted to diversity, justice, and peace.

Bay Area Homelessness Project
A consortium of thirteen colleges and universities developing and implementing programs and projects to prevent and end homelessness.

Homeless Arts Project
An art gallery solely for those artists and poets who are or were homeless, for those in transition, for those "floating" from one abode to another.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
- List of reports in the CBPP Publications Library: All recent material is online and free; paper copies of older studies can be ordered from CBPP.
- Includes many reports and studies organized under the following themes: Federal Welfare Policies, Federal Budget Priorities; Federal Tax Policies; State Fiscal Policies; State Safety Nets; Poverty and Income Issues; Food Assistance; Health; Labor Market Policies; Low-Income Housing; Earned Income Tax Credit Analyses; and Immigrants. Something for every interest...
- List of CBPP studies in Low-Income Housing in the U.S. - including the following: l>

Welfare-to-Work Housing Vouchers: An Innovative Approach to Welfare Reform - December 1998
How the Statutory Changes Made by the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 may Affect Welfare Reform Efforts - December 1998
Housing and Welfare Reform: Some Background Information - November 1998 (excellent overview of federal housing assistance and welfare reforms in the U.S.)
In Search of Shelter: The Growing Shortage of Affordable Rental Housing - June 1998

Misc. U.S.
National Clearinghouse On Families & Youth

Mental Health Services Knowledge Exchange Network (KEN)

Australian Government launches 12 year plan to reduce homelessness in Australia
Media Release
21 December 2008
The White Paper on Homelessness, The Road Home, was launched today by the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, and the Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek. The White Paper outlines a plan for reducing homelessness in Australia by 2020, with specific goals to:
* Halve overall homelessness; and
* Provide accommodation to all rough sleepers who seek it.
There are currently 105,000 homeless people in Australia, of whom around 16,000 sleep rough.

The Australian Government's White Paper on Homelessness
On 21 December 2008, the Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Rudd MP and Minister for Housing, Tanya Plibersek MP, released the Government's White Paper on Homelessness: The Road Home.
- incl. links to the full paper and executive summary, along with some background information on the development of the paper and a few links to more contextual material.

Complete paper:

The Road Home : Homelessness White Paper
Contents:
* Foreword
* Background
* Executive Summary
* Chapter One: Scoping the Problem
* Chapter Two: The White Paper vision
* Chapter Three: Turning Off the tap
* Chapter Four: Improving and expanding services to end homelessness
* Chapter Five: Breaking the cycle
* Chapter Six: Research
* Chapter Seven: Implementation and governance
* Glossary
* End Notes

Source:
Prime Minister of Australia

Related link:

Australia releases ambitious plan to cut homelessness in half
December 22, 2008
By Michael Shapcott
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd introduced yesterday (Sunday) an ambitious plan to half the overall number of people who are homeless, and ensure that everyone who is sleeping outside has shelter. The plan, set out in a white paper called "The Road Home", includes $1.2 billion over four years in new spending - and is part of the Australian government's economic stimulus package that is designed to help people in that country weather the global economic crisis.
Source:
Wellesley Institute Blog
[ Wellesley Institute ]

International trends in housing and policy responses (PDF file - 1.2MB, 188 pages)
By Julie Lawson and Vivienne Milligan
December 2007
"This study provides a review of housing policies across an array of countries that have a similar level of economic development to that of Australia but have addressed housing questions in different ways. It aims to increase local understanding of international policy in housing, with a focus on social policies that intend to assist lower-income households to obtain appropriate and affordable housing, and to promote good ideas for policy action for consideration by Australian policy makers."
- incl. info on Canada’s intergovernmental agreements for social housing

More info about the International housing trends and policy responses project

More research themes
- incl. * Housing Policies and Programs * Housing Affordability * Indigenous Housing * Homelessness * Care and Support Services * Urban and Regional * Housing Markets * Research Theory and Practice

Source:
Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute

See also:

Homelessness & Homeless People Australia
Features pictures and real life stories of homeless people, statistics, resources, volunteer work, media coverage of homelessness and debate as to how to define homelessness in Australia.

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Sweden:
Homelessness - multiple faces, multiple responsibilities (PDF file - 1.3MB, 16 pages)
01 November 2007
The Government has presented a strategy to combat homelessness and exclusion from the housing market Homelessness - multiple faces, multiple responsibilities. The strategy covers 2007-2009. Its purpose is to establish a structure that clarifies that multiple actors at national, regional and also local level have a responsibility and a role to play in work to address homelessness and exclusion from the housing market. By specifying a clear direction for action, a broad approach and clear joint work, the strategy represents a higher level of ambition.
Source:
Ministry of Health and Social Affairs
[ Government of Sweden ]

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Addressing housing affordability: a 5-point plan for the next 10 years
Posted 30-08-2007
Source: Australians for Affordable Housing
This plan for housing affordability outlines a series of proposals, including a government-operated shared equity scheme for first homebuyers and extend the First Home Owners Grant into a mortgage assistance payment, increased investment in public and community housing by private financiers, investors, developers and government, and planning reforms to ensure affordable housing requirements for new developments.

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France set to declare right to housing
January 4, 2007
France is set to declare housing as a fundamental right following a high-profile protest in downtown Paris by homeless people and housing advocates. The right to housing has been recognized in international law for decades, and is incorporated in countless international covenents, treaties, declarations and other legal instruments. However, many countries sign the international documents then fail to incorporate the right to housing in domestic law, which makes it difficult for people to realize that right.
Source:
The Wellesley Institute Blog

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Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions - Switzerland
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions "is committed to local and national capacity-building in the area of economic, social and cultural rights and places particular emphasis on securing respect for the housing rights of traditionally disadvantaged groups, including women, children, ethic or other minorities and indigenous peoples." With this mission in mind, the site contains materials for persons interested in international trends in litigation for housing rights, forced evictions, and housing rights across the globe. Also, there is an online library of documents and additional reports related to these subjects and a section for those persons who may choose to get involved with different projects. The site is rounded out by several extensive glossaries of terms related to housing rights and a section on the Centre's most recent activities.

Reviewed by The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002

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Adequate & Affordable Housing for All
Research, Policy, Practice
An international conference held under the auspices of
Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43, of the International Sociological Association
June 24-27, 2004
"The Centre for Urban and Community Studies is pleased to host the 2004 international housing research conference under the auspices of Housing and the Built Environment, Research Committee 43 of the International Sociological Association."
- follow the links in the right-hand column of the conference home page (the link above) to find the following info: Conference Theme - Auspices: ISA RC43 - Organizing Committee - Call for Papers - Conference Program - Housing Practice Field Workshops - Deadlines (Key Dates) - Registration & Fees - Delegates, Abstracts, Papers - Tours and Social Program - Accommodation - About Toronto - About Canada - Housing Issues in Toronto - Housing Information Gateway - ENHR Housing Conference July 2004
Source:
Centre for Urban and Community Studies
[ University of Toronto ]
Related Link:
International Sociological Association

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United Kingdom:

Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods:
A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society
25 February 2008
The ageing of the population will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century for housing. This strategy sets out our response to this challenge, our plan to create Lifetime Homes in Lifetime Neighbourhoods. It outlines our plans for making sure that there is enough appropriate housing available in future to relieve the forecasted unsustainable pressures on homes, health and social care services.

Lifetime Homes, Lifetime Neighbourhoods
A National Strategy for Housing in an Ageing Society (PDF file - 5.7MB, 176 pages)
February 2008
Source:
Housing and Older People - includes links to several related documents
[ Communities and Local Government ]
Communities and Local Government is the government department that sets UK policy on local government, housing, urban regeneration, planning and fire and rescue.

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National Housing Federation (United Kingdom)
The National Housing Federation is the body that represents the independent social housing sector. We have around 1,400  non-profit housing organizations currently in our membership and it is growing all the time. Between them they own or manage around 1.4 million homes. The Federation is funded by membership fees and commercial services such as conferences, training and publications.

Links to Federation members' websites (over 100 links to Federation members, mainly housing associations )

A selection of housing and homelessness links from the United Kingdom and around the world from the Federation's website