By working together, Niagara is making progress in helping people become housed
No images? Click here
Pathway to Functional Zero
August 2023
This newsletter provides updates to the public about activities and progress made toward addressing homelessness in Niagara.
In this issue
We're making progress
- Niagara reduces homelessness and chronic homelessness in July
We're working together
- Province adopts funding approach proposed by Niagara – Increases local funding by $9.6 million
- New document outlines work to address homelessness since 2019
- Niagara uses a coordinated approach to service delivery
We're helping people
- Niagara to provide 100 more permanent shelter beds
- Niagara launches rapid rehousing pilot to prevent long shelter stays
We're housing people
- Newly opened York Street building completed in just over a year
Don't know where to call for help?
211 Ontario can help you to 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
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.
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 experiencing Chronic Homelessness are living 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.
We're Making Progress
Niagara Reduces Homelessness and Chronic Homelessness in July
In July, Niagara reduced the overall number of people experiencing homelessness by 76. This included 25 fewer people who were experiencing Chronic Homelessness.
At the end of July there were a total of 1,078 people experiencing homelessness in Niagara, including 512 people experiencing Chronic Homelessness. The reductions in July show that progress is being made on the path to end homelessness in Niagara.
Niagara Region and its partners know how the system is performing because we use a real-time By-Name List.
A By-Name List is a real-time list of all known people experiencing homelessness in a community. This list is needed to know who is experiencing homelessness and to coordinate access for them to the most appropriate housing programs. It also allows us to understand how many people are experiencing homelessness, becoming homeless and returning to housing every day. This information tells us how the system is performing overall.
We're Working Together
Province Adopts Funding Approach Proposed by Niagara – Increases Local Funding by $9.6 Million
Years of advocacy to the province by Niagara’s elected officials and staff have paid off.
In its 2021 report on homelessness to the province, the Auditor General recommended that the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing switch to a funding approach for homeless services that is based on need. This approach was proposed by the Regional Municipality of Niagara. In the report the Ministry stated it agreed with the recommendation and committed to a more equitable allocation of funds based on current local need.
In April 2023 the Province of Ontario announced an additional $ 9.6 million per year in funding for homelessness services in Niagara. The changed funding formula raises the province’s total investment earmarked for Niagara to $20.9 million. Regional Council Chair, Jim Bradley said:
"The Region has had to invest more local taxpayer dollars in homelessness programs than any other location in Ontario on a per capita basis. We’ve been prepared to do that, but we have also been advocating simultaneously for provincial funding.”
More information
New Document Outlines Work to Address Homelessness since 2019
Niagara Region and its partners have been working hard to address homelessness. A new document outlining the work that has been done since just before the pandemic is now publicly available.
Inside, you will find a summary of important areas of work and a description of the key concepts for providing effective professional services, such as Homelessness Prevention, Assertive Street Outreach, Housing Focused Shelter, Supportive Housing and more.
Niagara Uses a Coordinated Approach to Service
Niagara’s Homeless Serving System uses a coordinated approach to provide people experiencing homelessness with appropriate supports and housing. This is important because different people have different needs and experience homelessness in different ways, from living in an encampment to couch surfing with a friend or family member.
Using a coordinated approach means that the partners who are working together to end homelessness share the same priorities and processes.
For service users coordinated access means they know what to expect from services and the most intensive supports are matched to those with the greatest need. Niagara’s Coordinated Access Guide was published in November 2022.
We're Helping People
Niagara Gets More Permanent Shelter Beds
Niagara Region is replacing its two seasonal shelters with a total of 100 permanent all-day shelter beds. These new shelter spaces will have 50 beds each in Niagara Falls and St. Catharines.
The permanent spaces are expected to open in the fall 2023 into early 2024. The new permanent beds will increase year-round access to best practice supports for people experiencing homelessness to return to housing. This change was recommended in the shelter capacity review completed for Niagara Region Homelessness Services by OrgCode in early 2023.
A site for the shelter in Niagara Falls has been confirmed and a site for the shelter in St. Catharines has not yet been found. Planning is underway to add even more permanent shelter beds. The total number of new shelter beds needed in Niagara will also depend on the amount of bridge housing and permanent supportive housing that is created.
Rapid Rehousing Pilot Launches to Prevent Long Shelter Stays
In June, the Region launched a Rapid Rehousing program as a pilot to reduce long shelter stays. Community Care of St. Catharines and Thorold is the lead agency for the program.
Rapid Rehousing is an approach that helps people get housing quickly, increases self- sufficiency and their ability to stay housed.
In Niagara this program prioritizes helping people currently staying in an emergency shelter to return to housing before they become chronically homeless. Supports are provided for a limited time and include help finding housing, move-in and rent assistance and case management.
Housing-Focused
In May, Iain De Jong of OrgCode, a recognized national leader in shelter transformation, trained Niagara's emergency shelter staff on what it means to become Housing-Focused.
In Housing-Focused Shelters, staff use a whole-team approach to support people to return to housing.
We're Housing People
Newly Opened York Street Building Completed in Just Over a Year
In July and August, Niagara Regional Housing is moving tenants into its new 43-unit building on York Street in Welland.
This development used prefabricated construction, meaning the apartment building was built off-site and then assembled on-site. This innovation greatly reduced the construction time to just over a year so that this new community housing would be available as quickly as possible. Niagara Regional Housing continues to explore various housing innovations.
The York Street building is just one of the projects underway or being planned in Niagara to increase the local supply of affordable housing.
