Ontario's homelessness initiative gets $587M

Ontario is providing $587 million to the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative to help families and individuals at risk of homelessness get the housing that best suits their needs.

Ontario is partnering with municipalities across the province to prevent and address homelessness.

This funding will enable communities to offer a wider range of services to meet their local needs, including:
-setting up emergency shelters for people in crisis.
-offering homelessness prevention programs like providing emergency financial assistance to prevent eviction.
-providing a mix of long-term and transitional housing.
-Other support services like street outreach, food banks and transportation.

As of March 31, 2014, the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative has helped more than 33,100 families and individuals experiencing homelessness obtain housing, and has helped approximately 83,800 families and individuals at-risk of homelessness remain in their homes.

“We’re building on the success of the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative which has helped thousands of families and individuals dealing with homelessness gain and retain secure accommodation,” said Ted McMeekin, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “This Initiative gives communities the flexibility to address local priorities and better meet the needs of individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.”

“We know that homelessness costs Ontario’s economy and as part of our government’s plan to build Ontario up, we are looking at transforming programs and services for people, to ensure they are focused on outcomes for people,” said Deb Matthews, Deputy Premier, Minister Responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy, President of the Treasury Board. “The Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative is a great example of how we streamlined five programs into one that responds to individual community needs and is delivering better results for people.”

Ontario is maintaining the current Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative funding allocations for two years pending the outcomes of the Expert Advisory Panel on Homelessness and the 2015-16 update to the Long-Term Affordable Housing Strategy.

As the most populous city in the province with a large and diverse number of families and individuals at risk of homelessness, Toronto will receive $223 million over two years.