A community of 55 drop-ins and allied members throughout Toronto
Toronto Drop-In NetworkState of Homelessness In Canada Report, 2016
State of Homelessness In Canada Report, 2016
Posted on: December 31, 1969
State of Homelessness in Canada 2016: Additional $1 a week per Canadian could end homelessness
Homelessness in Canada remains at crisis levels, but for the first time in more than 25 years, there's hope, according to the State of Homelessness in Canada 2016 released today in Ottawa by the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness.
“We agree with the government’s National Housing Strategy objective to ensure all Canadians have safe, decent and affordable housing,” says Tim Richter, President of theCanadian Alliance to End Homelessness. “But we must act most urgently for those for whom a lack of housing can be a matter of life and death – people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.”
The report presents recommendations to the Government of Canada for the upcoming National Housing Strategy and shows not only how homelessness could be eliminated, but that ending homelessness is achievable and affordable.
The report recommends an investment of $4.474 billion in 2017-2018 or $43.788 billion over a 10-year period, representing an annual increase of $1.818 billion more than the federal government is projected to spend on affordable housing in 2017-2018. That's only an additional $50 per Canadian annually or less than a $1 per week to prevent and end homelessness in Canada. It’s worth noting that homelessness currently costs the Canadian economy over $7 billion per year.
“The good news is we know what to do to solve homelessness: targeted affordable housing investment, community systems planning, Housing First, prevention and federal leadership will get us there,” said Gaetz. “And importantly, we also know solving homelessness will be far cheaper than ignoring it.”
Modern mass homeless in Canada is primarily the result of shrinking federal investment in housing beginning in the 1980s. As homelessness in Canada has grown, the face of homelessness has changed. What began as a phenomenon primarily impacting older single men now includes women (27 per cent of the homeless population), seniors (24.4% of shelter users), and youth (18 per cent of the homeless population). Indigenous Peoples are 27 to 33 per cent of shelter users and are 10 times more likely to use homeless emergency shelters, yet only represent only 4.3 percent of the Canadian population.
State of Homelessness in Canada: 2016 key recommendations:
Adopt a national goal of ending homelessness with clear and measurable outcomes, milestones and criteria.
Renew and expand Homelessness Partnering Strategy focusing on Housing First, prevention and building coordinated homelessness systems.
A new federal/provincial/territorial framework agreement that defines local leadership on homelessness and housing investment.
Targeted strategies to address the needs of priority sub-populations including youth, veterans and Indigenous peoples.
Retain and expand existing affordable housing stock.
Implement a National Housing Benefit.
Affordable housing tax credit.
Review and expand investment in affordable housing for Indigenous peoples.
Homelessness by the numbers:
35,000 Canadians are homeless on a given night. 235,000 Canadians are homeless at some point every year.
In the last 20 years Canada's population has grown more than 30% but federal funding for affordable housing has dropped more than 46 per cent. This has meant at least 100,000 units of affordable housing were not built.
Today over 1.5 million Canadian households live in core housing need, with over half of those households living in extreme core housing need (living in poverty and spending over 50 per cent of their income on housing).
There has been a steady decline in the number of Canadians using shelters in the last 10 years. In fact, in 2014 there were almost 20,000 fewer people using emergency shelters than in 2005
While there are fewer people using shelters, but those that are using them are staying longer.
The national occupancy rate – how full shelters are – increased by more than 10% between 2005-2014
Most shelter stays are brief with youth and adults staying on average 10 days. But for seniors (50+) and families, the average length of stay is twice as long
The Toronto Drop-In Network (TDIN) is an active member-based coalition of 59 organizations that run at least 56 diverse drop-in centres across the city of Toronto. Our members work with people who are homeless, marginally housed, or socially isolated, including men, women, transgender and non-binary people, youth and seniors.
Toronto Drop-In Network | 260 Augusta Avenue Toronto, ON, M5T 2L9 | 416-824-4172
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