Destination: Home by Angela Lariviere

DESTINATION : HOME LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN www.destinationhome.ca

LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

DESTINATION : HOME LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

OTTAWA LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS “We are committed to ending chronic homelessness in our city within 10 years.” Ottawa Leadership Table on Homelessness

JANET YALE, CHAIR

LAWRENCE GREENSPON

Executive Vice-President Corporate Affairs, TELUS

Lawyer Greenspon, Brown & Associates

MAYOR LARRY O’BRIEN

STEVE KANELLAKOS

City of Ottawa

Deputy City Manager Community and Protective Services City of Ottawa

MICHAEL ALLEN President and CEO United Way/Centraide Ottawa

BERNIE ASHE CEO, Kott Lumber

STEVE MADELY Station Manager, 580 CFRA

THE VERY REV. SHANE PARKER Dean and Rector Christ Church Cathedral Ottawa

LORRAINE BENTLEY Executive Director Options Bytown

JO-ANNE POIRIER CEO, Ottawa Community Housing

DR. ROBERT CUSHMAN CEO

PERRY ROWE

Champlain Local Health Integration Network

Executive Director, Salvation Army

JEFFREY DALE

JIM WATSON

Former President and CEO, OCRI

MPP, Government of Ontario

PATRICK DION

JANE WELDON

Government Relations Advisor

PEGGY DUCHARME Executive Director Downtown Rideau Business Improvement Area

JIM DURRELL President Capital Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ltd.

HOWARD GRANT President Partnering and Procurement Inc.

STEPHEN GREENBERG President, Osgoode Properties

Director General Homelessness Partnering Secretariat HRSDC

SHIRLEY WESTEINDE Chair Westeinde Group

VERNON WHITE Chief of Police Ottawa Police Service

MARION WRIGHT Executive Director Canadian Mental Health Association Ottawa Branch

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME

Chronic homelessness is not one challenge; it is many. It is mental disease, addiction, economic distress, abuse and family breakdown. No magic solutions exist. But practical strategies for far more effective progress are within reach.

Imagine one day living in a city where no one needs to be on the streets or depend on emergency shelters for an extended period of time.

LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

“I am homeless because my husband abused me and I needed to leave with my children.”

LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

A LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Thousands of people in the city of Ottawa are homeless. We only see some of them. But they are all there, pushed to the periphery. Part of our community but in many ways shut out. They are sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers. And their ranks are growing with tragic haste. In 2008, 7,045 people, including 1,179 children, used emergency shelter beds. On any given night, about 1,059 people were sleeping in shelter beds or even shelter hallways. And, buried in these numbers, more than 1,400 Ottawans belong to the category known as “chronically homeless” — those who spend more than 60 cumulative nights in a single year either on the streets or in a shelter. Homelessness exacts a huge moral and economic cost on our communities. Lives of promise and potential become lost to addiction, mental illness and hopelessness. Services designed to serve as stop-gap measures are over-subscribed and horribly stressed. While there is a long list of challenges, including a lack of proper housing and limited community-based resources, increasingly, the ingredient missing most is optimism. For far too many people, homelessness is a problem that appears beyond fixing — a new fact of life that seems invulnerable to ongoing efforts at a solution. What is needed is a new approach that offers tangible prospects of success. That was the challenge undertaken in June 2008 by the Leadership Table on Homelessness. The Table was established with a simple goal in mind: engage all sectors of the community, including the business sector, to forge a broadbased consensus on visibly reducing the problem of chronic homelessness in our community. ”Destination: Home” is the result of that effort. It contains a number of recommendations intended to help our community better meet the needs of people who are chronically homeless.

of everyone working in the area of chronic homelessness be focused differently. And it will require the efforts and voices of many new players. At the heart of this report is a new approach to tackling chronic homelessness. ”Destination: Home” urges a rigorous focus on the chronically homelessness — that minority slice of 1,400 or so people who constitute the permanently dispossessed in our community. By focusing our efforts on these individuals, we can ensure that current resources are better deployed, freeing up services to help the temporarily homeless who require far less intense support. It is an approach that ensures that money is well spent but, more importantly, it saves lives. And when executed properly, it can realize significant reductions in the number of people living without shelter. Our Leadership Table has examined these issues carefully and has drawn on the experience and success of community organizations in Ottawa as well as other jurisdictions. The conclusion is inescapable: a few carefully chosen policy decisions combined with public and political support will work. We can tackle this problem. We can reduce costs. We can improve our community. And, we can help make lives better. Of course, to work, this approach must be adopted with vigour. In that respect, I encourage you to read this report carefully and lend your support to its recommendations. The plan presented here is a call to action to everyone in our community. With the support of the City of Ottawa, Ottawa Community Housing, Champlain Local Health Integration Network and United Way/Centraide Ottawa, the members of our Leadership Table have come together to kick-start this important initiative. In the coming months, we will be looking to government, the business community, faith groups, community agencies and individuals to help us solve this problem, together.

More than that, it provides a simple but effective blueprint that can and will achieve visible results. It offers what Ottawa has long been looking for: genuine hope that this problem can be confronted and a practical plan to get it done.

We hope you will join us in this very important initiative.

While the blueprint is simple, constructing the solution will not be easy. It will require that the resources and energies

Janet Yale Chair, Leadership Table on Homelessness, Ottawa, May 2009

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Executive Summary Thousands of people in the city of Ottawa are homeless. They all are in need. They all lead lives of struggle and challenge. They all suffer from misfortune of one sort or another: mental illness, addiction, abuse, economic dislocation. But they are not all alike. More than 1,400 of these members of our community are what is termed “chronically homeless.” These are people who spend more than 60 cumulative nights in a single year either on our city streets or in shelters. Many are mentally ill or suffer from other significant personal challenges. To get back to security, they require more than four walls; they also need a combination of support services customized to their circumstances. For a system that has long been established to address transitional needs — to lend the temporary supports that help those out of work or down on their luck get back on their feet — the growing ranks of the chronically homeless pose a double dose of concern. On the one hand, the resources and tools required to intervene with such serious cases are not organized to effectively address the intensity of the chronically homeless. On the other hand, the temporarily homeless are often underserved because valuable emergency services, health, housing and counselling resources are strained and stretched by the acute needs of the chronically homeless. The result of the current approach is plain to see: a system that works harder,

LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

but achieves less; costs that are higher but progress that is less impressive. We can do better. We must do better, for both moral and economic reasons. Ottawa’s Leadership Table on Homelessness was formed to help facilitate that very outcome; to provide a plan of action and gather the public consensus to put that plan into place. This report offers a blueprint that builds upon a new and different approach to the problem of chronic homelessness in this city — one that does not stretch the resources of our social services, justice and health care systems; that offers a practical solution with tangible results; and that involves everyone, including the business sector. A new approach will offer a new lease on life for thousands of Ottawa citizens who struggle day by day without the basic benefit of shelter. “Destination: Home” recommends a vigorous focus on the chronically homeless. There are three principal benefits of this approach: • It will more effectively use resources to help us get the chronically homeless off the street — and keep them off the street. • It will free up resources, services and supports that are currently absorbed disproportionately by the chronically homeless to better meet the needs of the temporarily homeless. • It will reduce the numbers of those who are chronically homeless as well as those who cycle in and out of homelessness in our community. At the cornerstone of this effort is an emphatic focus on housing. To create an environment where treatment and progress are possible, the chronically homeless must be given a secure living environment. The evidence is irrefutable:

you cannot combat chronic homelessness from the street corner. For this reason, the Leadership Table recommends strongly a “housing-first” approach.

• Government support and other funding are inadequate and uncoordinated.

Chronic homelessness is costly, both economically and socially. It exacts a terrible toll on our medical, emergency response and justice systems, on social services and on taxpayers. It has a negative impact on our tourist trade, as well as on retailers and hospitality operators who conduct their businesses in places where chronically homeless people congregate. Moreover, it has a dispiriting effect on the community over the long term. It reduces our community’s ability to function cohesively.

Consequently, our Leadership Table has developed three recommendations upon which the balance of this report is based. These recommendations constitute three core strategies that are meant to achieve tangible results:

If the humanitarian reasons for this approach are unpersuasive, the economic rationale is undeniable. The annual drain on support services including emergency, public health, social services and the justice system caused by just a single chronically homeless person amounts to roughly$100,000. The research uncovered by this report shows that, by way of contrast, it actually costs much less — around $18,000 — to provide both a stable, permanent home and a full suite of social services for a chronically homeless person. In other words, it is fives times cheaper to treat the same person in a home than on the street. Furthermore, the likelihood of turning lives around is far greater. Several barriers stand in the way of enabling this approach: • We lack the housing stock needed to serve the chronically homeless. • We lack sufficient social support services tied to housing for the chronically homeless. • Public, private and non-profit landlords need better supports to enable them to provide available units to the chronically homeless.

• There is insufficient public voice on the issue.

CORE STRATEGIES 1 HOUSING FIRST: Provide a permanent, stable home for every chronically homeless person. Every year find a minimum of 100 suitable housing units and place an equal number of chronically homeless people in these units; create a new fund from which landlords can draw to cover renovations and repairs; and encourage the creation of affordable rental housing by advocating for government funding and changes to federal and provincial legislation. 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. Secure support services to help chronically homeless people stay off the streets; and work with all three levels of government to secure program support dollars. 3 ENGAGEMENT: Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in helping to provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless. Increase awareness of the impact and costs of chronic homelessness through advocacy and public awareness campaigns. Ottawa’s citizens deserve a dose of optimism. Chronic homelessness is not one challenge; it is many. It is mental disease, addiction, economic distress, abuse and family breakdown. No magic solutions exist. But practical strategies for far more effective progress are within reach.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Chronic Homelessness in Ottawa: A Growing Crisis

The truth about homelessness in Ottawa can be told two ways: in statistics published by local agencies and in the stories of those who suffer its reality each day. Either way, the result is the same. Things are getting worse, not better.

Over and above the increasing number of chronically homeless people (those who spend more than 60 cumulative nights in a shelter or on the streets in any given year), there are more people without adequate shelter in our community. The resources dedicated to help those who cycle in and out of the shelter system are more oversubscribed than ever. Not only does this trend make our current circumstances challenging, it signals even tougher times ahead. Just take a look at recent statistics: the average length of stay for people in emergency shelters on a temporary basis increased by 10% in 2008 to 51 days. Distressingly, this average number is becoming very close to the technical definition used to delineate the chronically homeless population.

The Numbers Behind the Stories According to data compiled by the Alliance to End Homelessness, the rate of overall homelessness in Ottawa continues on an upward trajectory. Between 2004 and 2008, the use of shelter beds and length of stay in shelters has increased steadily, with the problem growing worse for families and youth.

NEW STATISTICS DURING 2008 COMPARED TO 2007 REVEAL: • • • •

7,045 people used emergency shelters, an increase of 473 individuals; shelter beds were used 386,506 times, compared to 341,212, a 13% increase; 747 families spent at least one night in an emergency shelter, a 14% increase; and 1,179 children spent at least one night in a shelter, compared to 907, a 23% increase.

The ranks of chronically homeless people are also swelling. In 2008 the number increased by 8% over 2007, from 1,200 to 1,470. Nearly one fifth, or 19% of all homeless individuals in Ottawa, now qualify as chronically homeless. While data for 2009 will not be available for another year, anecdotal evidence suggests the economic recession is accelerating these already discouraging trends.

A Look at Ottawa’s Chronically Homeless The reasons for landing on the streets are unique to every person, but chronic homelessness generally comes down to poverty, physical and/or mental health issues, or addictions.

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In a 2003 University of Ottawa Panel Study on Persons who are Homeless in Ottawa, which looked at the overall homeless population including those who were chronically homeless, 15% of those surveyed had physical health problems, 21% had mental health issues, and 31% of men and 19% of women were struggling with alcohol or drug abuse.

Because of the intensity of their challenges, chronically homeless people consume a disproportionate share of public resources that would otherwise be dedicated to those people who more infrequently find themselves without housing. These are the thousands more who use emergency shelters sporadically: when they can’t pay the rent or pay for other necessities such as food or health care; when they’re between jobs; or when they are fleeing domestic abuse. Many of these people live in unsafe and inadequate housing, and are forced to move frequently because of their economic situation.

Chronic Homelessness Costs Our Community Chronic homelessness costs our community in many ways.

COSTS TO THE SYSTEM

COSTS TO TAXPAYERS If the usual range of community support services

Given their precarious physical and mental health status as were used by just one chronically homeless well as the high incidence of addiction, chronically homeless person over a one-year-period, the cost would people tend to rely heavily on a range of public health and social services. Because they don’t enjoy permanent housing and be about $100,000. In comparison, the cost to appropriate support services, they have no choice but to cycle put a chronically homeless person in permanent in and out of shelters, living on the streets and using public supportive housing is roughly $18,000. emergency resources regularly. Consequently, their needs tend to draw upon everything from police and detention centres, to paramedic and ambulance services, to hospital emergency services and admissions. The Stories

COSTS TO TAXPAYERS If a single chronically homeless person uses all available emergency services in a single day, the cost to the community would be in the range of $3,000, according to the 2007 Costs of Responding to Homelessness in Ottawa study prepared for the City of Ottawa (see chart on next page). However, most chronically homeless people do not access all of these services on any given day throughout the year. Take what might be a typical day for Katie.* She is living on the streets and becomes involved in an altercation with another street person. Someone calls 911, the police and paramedics arrive, and she is taken to an emergency department and treated, with followup provided by a street outreach worker. The cost for this type of intervention would be $1,200.

The ranks of Ottawa’s chronically homeless include young and old, women and men. It’s a population that is on the rise year after year.

Shelley* suffers from schizophrenia. “It was very scary being homeless. I didn’t know I had schizophrenia, but the pain I felt psychologically for being homeless (and not having a job, or being in school, or knowing my friends any longer), I just masked it with alcohol and drugs.” *The names have been changed to protect their identities. These stories are excerpted from Experiencing Homelessness: Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, produced by the Alliance to End Homelessness. Reprinted with permission.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Chronic Homelessness in Ottawa: A Growing Crisis

Estimates from those involved in the sector indicate the annual cost to the system is typically about $100,000 per chronically homeless person.

continued

In comparison, the cost of putting a chronically homeless person in permanent supportive housing is far less: approximately $1,500 a month or $18,000 a year.

Given that the number of people joining the ranks of the chronically homeless appears to be on the rise, the cost to local taxpayers will also increase. This is because more tax dollars will be going towards meeting their health and social services needs.

TYPICAL DAILY (OR PER USE) COST PER SERVICES EMERGENCY AND TEMPORARY SUPPORTS HOSPITAL ACUTE CARE

723

AMBULANCE PICK-UP

690

PSYCHIATRIC – IN-PATIENT BED

460

EMERGENCY HOSPITAL

372 141

PRISON/DETENTION CENTRE STREET/COMMUNITY POLICING

113

EMERGENCY SHELTERS (SINGLES & FAMILY)

STREET OUTREACH 2

$/DAY 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

700

800

FULL-TIME HOUSING AND SUPPORTS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING HIGH SUPPORTS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING MEDIUM SUPPORTS

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING LOW SUPPORT

$/DAY 0

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115

100

200

300

400

500

600

OTHER COSTS Already over-burdened, our police service, detention centres, hospitals and ambulances will face even greater difficulty serving the needs of all residents, including the chronically homeless population. And for those in our community who work in social housing or provide support services to the chronically homeless, finding solutions is often overtaken by the huge day-today pressures of supporting their needs. Chronically homeless people congregate in specific areas of the city, where services and programs, including shelters, are available to them. In Ottawa, these services are offered in the downtown core, which is a prime shopping and tourist area. Unfortunately, many residents and tourists often feel at risk when walking or

driving through this section of the city. This has a negative impact on our retail, restaurant and tourist industry. By dealing with this issue in practical, real terms — placing the chronically homeless in their own homes and giving them the support they need — it is possible to enhance the safety and attractiveness of our city. Finally, there is a huge moral cost exacted when friends, family and others in our community suffer without obvious hope of remedy. Most Ottawans want to see chronic homelessness addressed, not merely to help lessen financial pressures but for the good it will accomplish. Success in this respect can be counted in the currency of brighter, better lives for hundreds of citizens and their families.

Imagine one day living in a city where no one needs to be on the streets or depend on emergency shelters for an extended period of time. • In a community as affluent as Ottawa, it is nothing short of tragic that thousands of people are living without a reliable roof over their heads. More than 1,400 members of our community have no place to call “home.” Yet lives can be turned around and hope can be realized. Moreover, the costs of intervention are less than the price of pursuing the status quo.

Matt* ended up homeless after his fiancé passed away. A single aboriginal man, he couldn’t make the rent payments and he relapsed into substance abuse. “Homelessness is the hardest thing you ever go through because you feel constantly judged. I wasn’t in control of my life anymore and I didn’t have an income. The people I was hanging around with were abusing drugs and alcohol too. Once you’re in that lifestyle, it’s so hard to get out.” *The names have been changed to protect their identities. These stories are excerpted from Experiencing Homelessness: Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, produced by the Alliance to End Homelessness. Reprinted with permission.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Barriers to Eliminating Chronic Homelessness in Ottawa

Ottawa has a strong network in place to serve people who temporarily find themselves without shelter, as well as to help low-income earners in need of affordable housing. But the demand for appropriate housing and supports continues to outstrip the supply.

Simply put, the existing support network is unable to adequately and appropriately deal with the city’s 1,400 or so chronically homeless.

The main barriers to ending chronic homelessness in Ottawa are: • We lack the housing stock needed to serve the chronically homeless. There is significant competition for scarce social housing and affordable rental housing units, and there simply is not enough stock available to address the needs of the chronically homeless in this community. • We lack sufficient social support services tied to housing for the chronically homeless. The challenges faced by the chronically homeless are multiple and complex. Even setting aside the overarching issue of lack of housing stock, there are not enough “supportive housing” units (those units that provide both a place to stay on a permanent basis and needed individual social supports). • Public, private and non-profit landlords need better supports to enable them to provide available units to the chronically homeless. The challenges facing the chronically homeless can make them less attractive as tenants, and the right conditions do not exist in adequate measure to enable them to make units available to the chronically homeless.

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• Government support and other funding are inadequate and uncoordinated. Public resources for permanent housing and support services are spread over three levels of government and many departments, making coordination difficult. In addition, most of the resources are geared to providing shortterm emergency responses to the needs of the chronically homeless, and not to permanent solutions. • There is insufficient public voice on the issue. Given a lack of awareness around chronic homelessness — or how to end it — there isn’t the public will to address this issue.

Imagine a community that has come together to create small housing clusters for chronically homeless people. Each cluster contains small, self-contained units, each with their own front door and washroom. There’s a courtyard in the middle and a common area on the second floor. Meals are delivered once a day and social workers regularly staff these shelters. It’s single-purpose housing where the chronically homeless are given homes, dignity and the help they need to gain some level of independence.

Katie* was also homeless. She left an abusive home situation and lived on the streets. “If I could describe being homeless in one word, well, I’d swear. It’s cold. It’s hard to find a place to sleep. Nobody wants to rent to somebody who’s homeless because they think they have bad credit or they’ll wreck the place. If I could go back home, I would. Being on the streets is not something you want to do with your life.” *The names have been changed to protect their identities. These stories are excerpted from Experiencing Homelessness: Fourth Report Card on Ending Homelessness in Ottawa, produced by the Alliance to End Homelessness. Reprinted with permission.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Eliminating Chronic Homelessness: A New Approach

To tackle the growing homelessness problem, Ottawa requires a new approach, one that promises real progress and aims to make a tangible difference; and one that engages all members of the community, including the business sector.

FOR SUCH AN APPROACH TO WORK, TWO OUTCOMES MUST BE REALIZED: • reduce the number of chronically homeless people; and • free up increased resources for the balance of those struggling to stay housed. If we can concentrate on the chronically homeless, who represent roughly 20% of the total homeless population, we will not only reduce their numbers but will free up 80% of the resources that are diverted to service their needs without lasting effect. These resources can then be used for those who cycle in and out of our shelter system on a temporary basis. A new approach must also be anchored by a new attitude. Chronic homelessness does not have to be a fact of urban life. It is not an unmanageable problem destined to grow worse no matter what strategies might be pursued. In reality, the causes and remedies to chronic homelessness are well recognized and easily identified. The challenge is almost entirely one of focus and results.

Housing First: The Mangano Approach Philip Mangano was appointed the head of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness in 2002 and quickly earned notice as the author and champion of the so-called “Housing-First” approach that targeted chronic homelessness. Mangano’s approach has been praised for achieving demonstrable results and lessening the burden borne by community-based organizations. His strategies have been followed in a variety of communities in North America and even overseas, usually with notable results. This approach helps chronically homeless people move as quickly as possible into long-term, affordable, appropriate housing; provides comprehensive support services to stabilize people in their housing and in the community; and results in an 80% rate of success in keeping people in stable, permanent housing. Consequently, the principal recommendation of the Leadership Table is to work in conjunction with the City of Ottawa to adopt a new approach that places a pronounced and strategic focus on diminishing the number of chronically homeless — and on building broad engagement that includes the business community in developing practical, real solutions that will solve this critical issue.

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Imagine a group of citizens coming together to buy and renovate a house that can be used to house two or three chronically homeless people and then donating that house to a housing provider to manage.

Specifically, our Leadership Table recommends adopting a Mangano-like housing-first strategy. Similar approaches have already proven to be successful in other cities both in Canada and the United States. In 2000, the United States-based National Alliance to End Homelessness challenged its communities to put an end to homelessness within 10 years. Since that time, more than 300 communities have adopted a housing-first approach, with dramatic results in many of these cities, including Denver, Portland and San Francisco. In each case, double-digit reductions, sometimes reaching as high as 70%, have been realized. In these three cities, a number of social and community-based agencies have also realized important resource savings. This occurs because those successfully placed in permanent housing with supports are no longer using emergency services, shelters or other health and social services, or being detained in correctional facilities. Even more importantly, the results can be measured in terms of better lives. People are enjoying a higher quality of life, gaining the housing, help and skills required to keep off the streets, reintegrate and become healthy. Similarly, the balance of those who require episodic or short-term assistance with housing are finding that agencies and resources are

freer to focus on their needs and generate quick results. Finally and most tellingly, at least 80% of those placed in housing remain off the streets and gain permanent, stable housing. In short, the housing-first approach works. In Canada, several cities have also adopted similar approaches and achieved success. Since implementing its Streets to Home plan in February 2005, Toronto has successfully placed more than 2,000 homeless people in permanent housing with support services, with an 85% success rate. As was witnessed in US cities, Toronto also found that use of emergency services and the number of arrests declined significantly. And those living in permanent housing began to take advantage of educational, training and drug treatment services. Other communities have adopted housingfirst plans: Calgary in January 2008; and Red Deer in February 2008. Similar efforts are now under way in Edmonton and Victoria.

Mangano A TRACK RECORD OF RESULTS Denver: 36% housed in two years Portland: 70% housed in first 18 months San Francisco: 25% housed in two years

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME A Plan of Action for Ottawa Ottawa has a real opportunity to eliminate chronic homelessness in our community. As has been shown in other municipalities throughout North America that have adopted a housing-first approach, the city’s involvement and support are crucial to our success. Also critical will be securing the collective will of everyone. All sectors need to embrace this plan and the appropriate community-based agencies, organizations and the business community need to be actively involved — from planning through to implementation.

Together, we can end chronic homelessness. Core Strategies and Action Plans The Leadership Table has developed three core strategies that will get the results we need. The strategies are based on best practices used in other jurisdictions. For each strategy, we have developed action plans, some of which are already being implemented. At the end of Year One, the Leadership Table will measure and evaluate the results working from the maxim that what gets measured gets done. Moving forward, we will refine action plans for the upcoming years based on the long-term objectives that we have established for the community.

CORE STRATEGIES

LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

HOUSING FIRST Provide a permanent, stable home for every chronically homeless person.

SUPPORT SERVICES Provide each chronically homeless person with the support services he or she needs in order to remain housed and off the streets.

ENGAGEMENT Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in helping us provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless.

STRATEGY 1 HOUSING FIRST Provide a permanent, stable home for every chronically homeless person. The cornerstone of any proven approach to tackle chronic homelessness begins with adequate housing.

Short-Term Actions: Year One 1. Locate a minimum of 100 housing units for the chronically homeless every year We can achieve this target in the following three ways and involving three different sectors: a) Secure a commitment from the non-profit housing sector. Ottawa Community Housing Corporation has committed to supply 50 social housing units each year for the next three years. In year 1, they have surpassed their goal with a commitment of 76 units. The remaining 24 units are being provided by the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), for a total of 100 units. b) We will work with private landlords to secure 25 rent supplement housing units through a supportive housing pilot project. c) We will work with social service housing providers to build or convert 25 singlepurpose units using existing resources.

2. Involve all levels of government in ending chronic homelessness All three levels of government need to be engaged and committed to increasing the supply of affordable housing units for the chronically homeless. This can be achieved by providing funding and by eliminating legislative barriers for landlords. a) Municipal, provincial and federal support: The Leadership Table is seeking funds from all levels of government to increase the supply of affordable housing and to support locally developed solutions that deal with chronic homelessness. b) Provincial and federal legislative change: The Leadership Table is advocating for changes in federal and provincial legislation to attract donation of land and to incent private landlords to re-purpose housing for the chronically homeless.

Imagine if each faith group in the city served as a “sponsor” to a chronically homeless person and that this sponsorship involved raising money for the person’s first and last month’s rent, as well as mentoring the homeless person over a one-year-period to ensure he or she receives basic life skills in order to live independently.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME A Plan of Action for Ottawa continued

STRATEGY 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. It is not enough to find a home for the chronically homeless. Many of these people have not lived in a regular home for many years. In addition, with their unique and often multiple challenges, they require a comprehensive suite of support services to help them cope.

Short-Term Actions: Year One 1. Ensure the right resources, including capacity-building services (such as basic life skills) that agencies can deliver or oversee, are in place to help chronically homeless people stay housed.

2. Secure program support dollars from all levels of government to provide appropriate support services to every chronically homeless person who receives housing. The City of Ottawa has committed $1 million in annual funding to provide supports for 100 chronically homeless people in a social or private rental housing unit.

Imagine a technical high school or college joining forces with a building supply firm to build new or renovate existing units to help increase the affordable housing stock, with the students supplying the labour and the firm donating the materials. â&#x20AC;˘ Imagine furniture or home improvement stores across the city challenging each other to donate furniture, appliances or supplies to a housing-first project.

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STRATEGY 3 ENGAGEMENT Build understanding about chronic homelessness and engage the community in helping us provide housing and support services to the chronically homeless. Without a collective understanding and determination to make a difference, political enthusiasm for change will wane, needed decisions will be delayed and challenges will go unmet. We can end chronic homelessness in our community by educating everyone â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from students to seniors, from ordinary citizens to politicians, from businesses to institutions â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and by involving people from all walks of life in this community-wide issue. All that is required is a broader appreciation for the task involved, for the costs of inaction and for the prospect that lasting success is achievable.

Short-Term Actions: Year One 1. Educate and engage the community on how to solve chronic homelessness.

3. Gain philanthropic support to eliminate chronic homelessness.

2. Gain support for increased public and private investment in housing-first approaches by demonstrating tangible successes.

4. Collaborate with community experts, researchers and governments on a way to measure the real costs of chronic homelessness and the impact of housingfirst approaches on all sectors of society.

Imagine private landlords agreeing to supply just one unit, at no cost, for a chronically homeless person.

ENDING CHRONIC HOMELESSNESS IN OTTAWA: OUR VISION, OUR PLAN

DESTINATION : HOME Next Steps: A Call to Action for This Community Our Leadership Table on Homelessness has a vision: to eliminate chronic homelessness in our city. Our strategy is based on a housing first approach, which involves giving people who spend more than 60 cumulative days a year in our shelters or on the streets a permanent supportive home — where they can be safe, secure and receive the services they need to live in dignity. Our Leadership Table has brought together stakeholders from all corners of our community, including the business sector. For the very first time, there is a collective will to enact a clear plan with precise steps that will deliver tangible results.

Let’s join — and work — together to end chronic homelessness in our city. Imagine a community where all levels of government, community organizations, the private sector and concerned citizens come together to give the chronically homeless a “home.”

Homelessness can be both a cause and a consequence of mental health problems.

Alcohol and drug-use problems can also contribute to, and are a consequence of, homelessness. LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS

DESTINATION : HOME LEADERSHIP TABLE ON HOMELESSNESS