Pathway to Functional Zero
February 2024

This newsletter provides updates to the public about activities and progress made toward addressing homelessness in Niagara.

In this issue

We're making progress

• A Clearer Picture of Chronic Homelessness in Niagara

We're working together

• Housing First and Home for Good Programs Support Success in Maintaining Housing
• Niagara Counts 2024

We're helping people

• Niagara Regional Cold Weather Response Protocol
• Riordon Street Temporary Emergency Shelter Nears Completion

We're housing people

• What is Housing Focused Shelter?

Don't Know Where to Call for Help?

211 Ontario can help you find homelessness supports for:

• Someone living outside in need of outreach services
• Finding a temporary bed at an emergency shelter
• Accessing income like Ontario Works, Ontario Disability Support Program and Canada Pension Program

A Local Priority – What is Chronic Homelessness? 

A person who is Chronically Homeless is currently experiencing homelessness and has either experienced homelessness for six months (or 180 days) or more in the last year or eighteen months (or 546 days) in the last three years. Many people who are experiencing Chronic Homelessness are residing at an encampment or staying at an emergency shelter. To end homelessness, it is really important to make it a priority to help people experiencing Chronic Homelessness to return to housing and to house people before they become Chronically Homeless. Niagara is part of the national campaign to end Chronic Homelessness.

Ending Homelessness - What is Functional Zero?

A community has reached Functional Zero when the number of people experiencing Chronic Homelessness has been reduced to three or fewer people for three or more months.

It doesn’t mean that no one ever experiences homelessness. It means that when someone becomes homeless, they are likely to quickly return to housing and then not become homeless again.

We're Making Progress

A Clearer Picture of Chronic Homelessness in Niagara 

After October’s monumental decrease in those experiencing chronic homelessness in Niagara, in the months of November and December the system saw a net increase of 122 chronically homeless individuals.  

At the end of December there were a total of 1231 people experiencing homelessness in Niagara, including 594 experiencing chronic homelessness (more than 180 days in the last 365). This is the highest number of chronic individuals documented on our By-Name List to date, but this was not unexpected. We anticipated an increase due to:   

• New permanent shelters opening – Historically, the operation of seasonal shelters has led to an inflow of individuals into the homelessness system in the month of November (E.g. Nov/Dec 2022 saw a net increase of 57 chronically homeless individuals). By adding more than 100 permanent shelter beds to the system, more of those experiencing unsheltered homelessness have been able to access services and therefore be counted on the list.  
• Changes to the community housing homelessness status process - With more agencies eligible to complete the homelessness status referral, individuals who wouldn't have previously been documented on the by-name list are being identified.    

This is not all bad news. Understanding who is experiencing homelessness in our system is critical to solving homelessness in Niagara, so while the increase is steep, ultimately it means we have a better understanding of who is experiencing homelessness.   

We're Working Together

Housing First and Home for Good Programs Support Success in Maintaining Housing

The purpose of Niagara’s homelessness serving system is to support people toward housing. An important metric for success is not only how many people have been housed, but how many people remain housed at key benchmarks after an experience with homelessness. For the first half of 2023, over 82 per cent of people who were supported to become housed have been able to avoid returning to homelessness within the 6 months following the move-in. 

These successes can be tied in part to the continued success of the Housing First and Home for Good supportive housing programs. Partnering agencies, Gateway Residential and Community Support Services of Niagara (lead), Southridge Community Church and YWCA Niagara Region support 307 individuals housed or pursuing housing in units throughout the region. Using a strengths-based approach, teams of intensive case managers work with individuals on goal setting, system navigation and connection to community supports to get and keep stable housing.  

Niagara Counts 2024

The Point-in-Time Count is a national initiative that facilitates the counting of individuals experiencing homelessness in a community at a given time. In addition to a count of the number of individuals and families experiencing homelessness, survey questions provide information on the demographics, experience and service needs of individuals experiencing homelessness.  

The Point-in-Time Count is scheduled to be administered in Fall 2024 to everyone over 15 years old who is experiencing homelessness on the reference night and who consents to participate. It will include mandatory federal and provincial survey questions as well as optional questions deemed important by the local steering committee.  

While the By-Name List provides a regular, real-time account of who is experiencing homelessness, the survey component of the Point-in-Time Count provides more in-depth information on the causes and experiences of people affected by homelessness. This includes individuals and families who do not have access to a permanent and secure place to live, and includes sleeping in shelters, on the streets, or living temporarily with others without having their own permanent housing (e.g. hidden homeless or couch surfing).  

The count and survey information can be used to target resources to where they are most needed.  

We're Helping People

New Regional Cold Weather Response Protocol 

Late January brought the first bought of very cold temperatures this winter to Niagara. In response to the temperatures dropping, a Cold Weather Alert protocol was developed. In partnership with municipal facilities, Niagara Assertive Street Outreach and Niagara Regional Transit, the following protocols will be initiated whenever the weather is forecast to drop below –15 C (or a wind chill of –20 C):  

• Municipal facilities, such as community centres and libraries, will be open as locations where the public can come in to get warm during their regular operating hours. These locations will not be emergency shelters and will not have additional support services.    
• Regionally operated shelters (Silver Spire in St. Catharines and Summer Street in Niagara Falls) have added an additional 30 beds to the system between the two sites.  
• Niagara Regional Transit will offer free rides on Niagara Region Transit conventional buses in Niagara Falls, St. Catharines and Welland for residents travelling to Regionally operated shelters or municipal facilities to stay warm.   
• Outreach services will be enhanced to the extent staffing is available. The goal will be to extend hours on weekdays until 9 p.m., weekends until 7 p.m. and provide dedicated outreach weekend services in Welland/South Niagara.   

Riordon Street Temporary Emergency Shelter Nears Completion 

In November 2023, the Region announced the planned opening of a 55-bed shelter on Riordon Street in St. Catharines. The temporary modular shelter on Riordan Street will operate all day year-round until a permanent emergency shelter in St. Catharines is built. The modular structures are being installed as of the week of Jan. 29, 2024, and the doors are expected to open in the coming weeks.  

The shelter will have 55 beds available for people from across Niagara experiencing absolute homelessness and will offer spaces for adult men, adult women, and couples and families with adult children. The opening of the Riordon site will mark the closure of the temporary overnight services being provided at Silver Spire United Church.   

We're Housing People

What is Housing Focused Shelter?  

In Niagara, emergency shelters follow the best practice of providing services that keep the focus on housing, as housing is the only known solution to homelessness. A housing focused shelter is emergency accommodation that sees the purpose of shelter as the process of getting people re-housed rather than a destination to participate in programming, rehabilitation, stabilization, or housing readiness. Housing focused shelters are low-barrier and do not have any unnecessary rules or requirements that are not aligned with safety that would prevent those who need the services from accessing them. (OrgCode, 2022)  

Housing focused activities are led by case managers who utilize assessment and triage tools and leverage the strengths of the individual to help set goals and match them with appropriate resources. Housing focused shelters support forward progress, without demanding immediate or unreasonable results. The goal of Niagara’s homelessness serving system is that instances of homelessness are brief and non-recurring.  

If your colleagues or another interested party would like to sign up for this newsletter, visit Housing and Homelessness Services.