Government of Canada takes concrete action to address homelessness in London

September 10, 2018

LONDON, ON - One of the most important roles of the Government of Canada is to support vulnerable Canadians, including those who are homeless or at-risk of homelessness.

The Government of Canada supports communities developing innovative solutions to prevent and reduce homelessness. Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary (Housing and Urban Affairs), on behalf of the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, today announced Lawson Health Research Institute (Lawson) will receive $223,572 from the Homelessness Partnering Strategy’s (HPS) Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream to support the project No Fixed Address Version 2 Expansion.

With this funding researchers at Lawson Health Research Institute, the research institute of London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), will further refine the No Fixed Address strategy. The project reaches and supports patients during the transitional period when they are being discharged from the hospital and re-integrated into the community. Lawson Health Research Institute will extend the strategy to two additional hospital sites: LHSC's Victoria Hospital and University Hospital. Through partnerships between service providers and non-profit organizations the No Fixed Address strategy helps prevent homelessness by providing timely and accessible support to patients who would otherwise be discharged into homelessness. The previous No Fixed Address strategy was found to prevent homelessness in 95 percent of cases.

Quotes

“I’m pleased that we continue to support research at London Health Sciences Centre. In providing individuals with the assistance they need when leaving the hospital, they are breaking the cycle of homelessness in the community. The No Fixed Address strategy is an important step in the development of a best-practice model of discharge in Canada.”
– Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

“Our Government is committed to preventing and reducing homelessness in Canada. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. Even one person on the streets is too many. Projects like this one, by London Health Sciences Centre, support communities in our goal of reducing chronic homelessness in Canada by 50 percent.”
– Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

"Lawson's expanded No Fixed Address research project is the first evaluation anywhere of a strategy to reduce the number of patients being discharged into homelessness. There is almost no literature on any aspect of this troublesome issue. Our goal is to reach and support those patients during the crucial period of transitioning from hospital and into the community."
– Dr. Cheryl Forchuk, Principal Investigator for the No Fixed Address research project. Dr. Forchuk is the Beryl and Richard Ivey Research Chair in Aging, Mental Health, Rehabilitation and Recovery and Assistant Director at Lawson Health Research Institute

Quick facts

As part of the National Housing Strategy, the Government announced a total investment of $2.2 billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness through an expanded federal homelessness program. By 2021–22, this will double annual investments compared to 2015-16.
This investment builds on investments made through Budget 2016 of $111.8 million in funding over two years and will maintain funding levels for 2018-19.
These investments put Canada on a path to reduce chronic homelessness by 50 percent by empowering local communities to deliver a combination of housing programs and support services, responsive and preventive measures.
On June 11, 2018, the Government of Canada announced Reaching Home, the redesigned federal homelessness program.
Reaching Home will replace the existing Homelessness Partnering Strategy as of April 1, 2019.

Backgrounder: Homelessness Partnering Strategy

Homelessness Partnering Strategy