Industry News

As temps plummet, danger rises for the homeless

As temperatures drop, the outdoors becomes increasingly dangerous for those without safe shelter or a home. A man was found unconscious inside a bus shelter at Yonge and Dundas this morning. Dressed only in a t-shirt and jeans, he passed away shortly afterwards at the nearby hospital.  Help us continue to provide safe shelter and…

Repeal the Safe Streets Act

Yesterday marked the 15th anniversary of the Safe Streets Act, a law that has had a negative impact on the safety and wellbeing of people who are homeless or street-involved. Because homeless people have to do things in public spaces that housed individuals do not (e.g., sleeping, eating and drinking, making money), the SSA has…

Home Free?

In 2005, Utah set out to fix a problem that’s often thought of as unfixable: chronic homelessness. The state had almost two thousand chronically homeless people. Most of them had mental-health or substance-abuse issues, or both. At the time, the standard approach was to try to make homeless people “housing ready”: first, you got people…

Over $16,000 for homeless man raised in crowdfunding campaign

In late June, Julia Hawkins was taking her lunch break at a Walmart in North Sydney, N.S., when she came across a homeless man sitting on the curb with his dog. Hawkins said she meant to give the man some money but forgot. In a display of small-town affection, when she saw him again the…

Ontario’s housing crisis is also a health crisis

Whether we’ve managed to buy our dream home or are simply dreaming of having a home, few things matter to us more than where we live. Our homes can be a large part of our identity. But they’re much more than that. Research demonstrates that decent housing is fundamental to our health. If home is…

Toronto council urged to approve anti-homophobia training for youth shelters

City council will be asked to make anti-homophobia training mandatory in youth shelters, a “watershed” decision according to LGBTQ advocates. A city hall committee unanimously recommended Wednesday that council approve the new training guidelines, along with steps to create an LGBTQ-only homeless shelter in Toronto. Gay, lesbian and transgendered people are massively overrepresented in Toronto’s youth…

Housing before treatment a better plan for homeless

New research out of Hamilton finds that not only is it more effective to provide housing first, it’s cheaper.  The study provided stable housing for participants and supports as needed to help prevent slip-ups.   “A study lauding the effectiveness of the “housing first” model for addressing homelessness couldn’t have come at a better time. Research…

Homeless plead for day in court in landmark Charter case

Janice Arsenault believes the lack of federal and provincial affordable housing policies led to her becoming homeless, drug addicted and no longer able to care for her two sons after her husband died suddenly a decade ago. “Had I had access to adequate affordable housing after Mark died, I would have been able to look…

Condo deal threatens future of Red Door family shelter

A vital shelter for homeless families in Toronto’s east end may be forced to close due to a ugly legal battle over commercial real estate investments involving Toronto diet doctor Stanley Bernstein and his wealthy Bridle Path-area neighbours Norma and Ronauld Walton. The Red Door Family Shelter is one of 31 properties Bernstein co-owned with the Waltons,…

Highrise hell for low-income families in Toronto

New report details deplorable living conditions for low-income families in Toronto’s aging highrises. Overcrowding, elevator breakdowns, broken door locks, persistent pests, peeling paint and the ever-present worry about paying the rent. That is the growing reality for families with children living in Toronto’s aging highrise apartment towers that dominate the city’s low-income neighbourhoods, according to…

Canada failing homeless youth, report charges

Canada falls short of meeting the needs of homeless youth by treating them as adults and expecting shelter care to solve the problem, according to a new report. Many youth find themselves “languishing in a shelter for four or five years when they should be in school learning to be an adult with the supports…

From welfare to cabinet, Joanne Bernard's journey

Joanne Bernard says Nova Scotia’s welfare system doesn’t have to be a poverty trap. And she should know. In the late 1990s, Bernard was a single mother living on income assistance following a traumatic marriage breakup. Today, as the province’s community services minister, she’s in charge of the entire social assistance system. Bernard says her…

Build affordable housing over public facilities

Aiming high, or rather above public facilities, could be the solution to the affordable housing shortage in Toronto, according to Oleson Worland Architects.     What if … … we unlocked the development potential of publicly owned urban properties? The development of public lands should meet the needs of Toronto’s communities. In addition to schools,…

Housing First Model — cure to homelessness in Canada?

Recent weather reports have left many Canadians feeling cold, if not freezing. But some people experienced these extreme temperatures under equally extreme circumstances. According to a 2013 report by the Homeless Hub and The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), as many as 1.3 million Canadians have experienced homelessness or insecure housing at some point during the last…

Prescribe money to cure poor health

At some point during almost every day in my office, I feel frustrated and powerless. At that moment, I find myself standing with my patient on the edge of a chasm: ill health lies in the crevice below, good health lies on the other side. And we cannot, between us, build the bridge to get…

Time for city and province to tackle urgent homelessness crisis

The risk of dying on the street was made tragically clear last month when Richard Ian Kenyon was found dead on Carlton Street during Toronto’s ice storm. While this was a tragedy, it was not an isolated incident. In February 2013, Toronto’s Homeless Memorial added its 700th name, representing Toronto’s 700th tragedy since 1985. Now, just under…

Discrimination in Toronto's Rental Housing Market

CERA found that 85-92% of recent newcomers experience some kind of discrimination when they attempt to secure housing in Toronto. This study, funded by the City of Toronto’s Access, Equity and Human Rights program, examined discrimination experienced by newcomers attempting to access housing in Toronto. Based on these disappointing findings, CERA plans to develop a…

90% of families at risk of homelessness in low-income highrises

  Nine out of 10 families occupying aging highrises in Toronto’s low-income neighbourhoods are living in inadequate housing that heightens their risk of homelessness, according to a University of Toronto study being released Friday. The findings, made public the same day that advocates will rally across Canada in support of National Housing Day, represent a…

Homeless seniors doubled in four years: Toronto study

Although the number of people sleeping outside has risen, 93% of the city’s homeless population say they want permanent housing. According to a report by the City of Toronto titled ‘2013 Street Needs Assessment’, “The share of seniors in the homeless population has more than doubled since 2009… those aged 51 and above represent 29.1%…

A mug in his hand, a song on his lips, street balladeer offers his story

Billyven Dandin lives at Strachan House. He was profiled in The Toronto Star on June 21, 2013.   If you live downtown, you’ve probably heard the musical stylings of Billyven Dandin. He’s the guy on the sidewalk, shaking a hardware store chain inside a plastic mug, singing a hypnotic melody of his own composition, squatting…

Ontario's Affordable Housing Crisis Deepens

A “staggering and worsening” shortage of affordable housing threatens the health and well-being of low- and moderate-income Ontarians and undermines the province’s economic competitiveness, says a 20-year retrospective on the issue. “The lack of a sufficient supply of affordable housing shuts the door on opportunity for too many Ontarians,” says the report by the Ontario…

The State of Homelessness in Canada: First national report card points to housing first

    The State of Homelessness in Canada: 2013, is the first extensive Canadian report card on homelessness and was launched this morning in Toronto. As expected, “housing first” as an approach is named in the report as the most effective and immediate solution and that priority should be given to the chronically homeless. A…

City Councillor Ana Bailão speaks at Homes First AGM

Many thanks to our guest speaker from this year’s Annual General Meeting, City Councillor and affordable housing advocate Ana Bailão. Pictured with Homes First’s Society Executive Director Patricia Mueller, Ana chairs the Affordable Housing Committee and is committed to addressing housing needs in Toronto. Ana’s message rings loud and clear: “We need to put people…

Condo's becoming part of Toronto's affordable housing toolbox

With more than 70,000 households languishing for years on Toronto’s affordable housing wait list and few public dollars available for new construction, the city is turning to its burgeoning condo market for help. Half a dozen condominium developers have inked deals with the city and non-profit housing providers to offer low-income families and individuals affordable…

Budget to renew funding for homeless, with new focus on 'housing first'

Current funding for the Homelessness Partnering Strategy is $134.8 million a year, but it is set to expire in 2014 — causing much angst to those who deliver the program since the population is so vulnerable. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is set to extend that funding beyond 2014, but is also likely to put the…

Fixing Homelessness Means Putting Housing First

We have the knowledge, the evidence and the strategies to improve the plight of those who fall between the cracks and stay there for long periods of time. But every night, the shelters continue to fill up, and every day, the many people who are homeless on our streets watch as we pass by with…

Shelter Skelter

Housing advocates and members of the homeless community gathered outside a downtown church on Tuesday, December 11, to mark a grim milestone: six people dead on Toronto’s streets in the previous month, the most since May 2007. Those who attend the monthly Homeless Memorial at the Church of the Holy Trinity say things are bad…

Housing homeless cheaper, more effective than status quo: study

A new study says there’s a consensus forming on how to fix one of the most stubborn social problems: homelessness. The study by Stephen Gaetz, director of the Canadian Homelessness Research Network, pulls together research from across Canada and the United States, which suggests it’s far cheaper to give a homeless person a place to…

Board Member Chantal Desloges awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Congratulations to Homes First board member Chantal Desloges, a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. The medal, awarded by the Governor General, recognizes outstanding contributions made by Canadians through community service. Nominated by the Canadian Christian Association, Chantal’s work as an immigration and refugee lawyer extends beyond the call of duty. For…

A rare success in the battle against homelessness

A decade ago, a New York activist brought a controversial new approach to housing to Toronto. Roseanne Haggerty argued that it was a waste of taxpayers’ money to cycle the homeless endlessly through the shelter system. Cities should use public funds to get them into stable housing as quickly as possible and tackle their problems…