OTTAWA – October 29, 2026 – In the face of an unprecedented surge in homelessness across Canada, five communities have achieved measurable reductions in homelessness over the past year.

These reductions were achieved through their partnership with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), with funding and support from the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF).

The $45-million fund led by CAEH and funded by the federal government through Reaching Home, supports local, data-driven improvement projects that aim to measurably reduce homelessness in a community. The first wave of funded projects was announced one year ago, at the 2025 National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

The communities that have achieved these reductions include (more details below):

• United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, ON: 52% reduction in chronic homelessness since October 2025
• St. Thomas-Elgin, ON: 37% reduction in chronic homelessness since October 2025; and a 50% reduction in youth homelessness since February 2026
• Ottawa, ON: 21% reduction in youth homelessness since January 2026
• Prince Edward Island: 15% reduction in total homelessness since January 2026
• Halton Region, ON: 9% reduction in total homelessness since August 2025

More than a dozen other communities have made measurable improvements to the way they respond to homelessness —for example, measurably reducing inflow into homelessness or helping more people move faster from homelessness to homes — thanks to their partnership with CAEH through HRIF.

Through HRIF, CAEH has been road-testing a new Model for Ending Homelessness. CAEH developed the model after more than a decade of working with communities across the country, drawing on best practices from around the globe, and learning what works and what doesn’t to meaningfully reduce homelessness.

“These early results show that not only is homelessness solvable, but there is a proven, adaptable approach any community can use to get there,” said Tim Richter,CAEH51�Թ��� founder and president.

According to federal government data, homelessness has nearly doubled nationwide over the past eight years. A recent poll by Abacus Data and CAEH found that more than one-third of Canadians know someone impacted by homelessness and nearly one in 10 say they have direct experience with homelessness. An overwhelming majority said they support investments in proven solutions.

Currently, many communities’ efforts are fragmented and focused on responding to the crisis of surging homelessness. CAEH51�Թ��� model shifts the focus from managing homelessness to ending it, ensuring every person experiencing homelessness is known and every community partner is working collectively to prevent homelessness whenever possible to create the shortest path from homelessness to housing. The community then uses data driven continuous improvement to improve their response until every neighbour has a safe place to call home.

Now CAEH is expanding support so more communities can implement this proven model, launching a range of support to meet different communities where they’re at. This includes free tools and resources, training, and peer learning to support and resolve specific challenges in community. A refreshed Built for Zero Canada partnership, along with fractional services to boost capacity, will work to support the heavy lifting as communities work to end homelessness. Services are tailored to local needs and offered through a non-profit fee structure focused on affordability and value.

To coincide with the service launch, CAEH also unveiled a new website and visual identity just ahead of the 13^th annual National Conference on Ending Homelessness, taking place in Winnipeg from November 3 to 5.

“In partnership with communities across the country, we’re changing how Canada responds to homelessness. To support that change, we have re-imagined how we work as well,” Richter said. “Our new look embodies our bold leadership and mission to reverse the lethal trajectory of homelessness in Canada.”

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For more information, visit www.caeh.ca.
Media contact: Jacqueline Demers, 416-859-6250, demers@redbrick.ca

Additional Information:

The following list includes details about the six Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF) projects that have helped drive reductions in homelessness in five communities across Canada.

• United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (UCLG), ON — In October 2025, the county government launched their HRIF project Movement to Improvement: Building a Housing Continuum Model, aiming to reduce chronic homelessness by repurposing 24 transitional housing units into permanent supportive housing. The project has helped UCLG achieve a 52% reduction in chronic homelessness.
• St. Thomas-Elgin, ON (chronic homelessness)  — In October 2025, the regional municipality launched Prevention in Action: A New Team, A New Commitment to Ending Homelessness aiming to reduce homelessness by creating a dedicated homelessness prevention team focusing on early intervention and housing stabilization. The project helped St. Thomas-Elgin achieve a 36.5% reduction in chronic homelessness.
• St. Thomas-Elgin, ON (youth homelessness) — In February 2026, the regional municipality launched Zero in Sight: Ending Youth Homelessness aiming to reduce youth homelessness by creating two full-time, housing-focused case managers dedicated to supporting youth experiencing homelessness. Just eight months into the 12-month project, the community has already achieved a 50% reduction in youth homelessness.
• Ottawa, ON — In January 2026, Ottawa launched their HRIF project Ending Youth Homelessness in Ottawa through Scattered Community Integrated Head-Leasing, which aims to reduce youth homelessness by creating an innovative head leasing model securing housing for youth and offering them support before and after they move in. Just nine months into the 12-month project, the community has already reduced youth homelessness by 21%.
• Prince Edward Island — In January 2026, the John Howard Society of PEI launched the Prevention & Diversion Program aiming to reduce total homelessness by working with people and families that previously experienced homelessness and are at risk of losing their housing to provide emergency interventions to help them maintain their housing. Just nine months into the 12-month project, the province has already achieved a 19% reduction in all homelessness.
• Halton Region, ON — In August 2025, the regional municipality launched the Halton Housing Stability Project aiming to reduce all homelessness by identifying early warning signs for people and families at risk of losing their housing, and intervening before an eviction occurs. The regional municipality has achieved a 9% reduction in all homelessness, 14 months into their 18-month project.

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Key Takeaways for Communities

• When Indigenous organizations lead the work to reduce homelessness, culture, community and belonging are weaved in. As Miywasin is showing, that can help improve an entire community51�Թ��� homelessness response system.
• Many people who are incarcerated do not have a permanent home and are discharged into homelessness — whether that is staying in shelters, sleeping rough, or couch surfing. Miywasin51�Թ��� HRIF project addresses that systems gap through intensive case management, housing stabilization funds, and cultural and community connection, which seems to improve housing stability and retention. 
• Miywasin Friendship Centre has incorporated a cultural wellness assessment as part of their intake process, helping connect people with supports that instil a sense of belonging. 
• Flexibility in project design and implementation is important in the work to reduce homelessness, particularly as the local context changes. Amidst ongoing shifts in the provincial remand system, Miywasin adapted their project to cover other gaps where people are discharged into homelessness from health care, treatment and child family services. 

For Mark*, the Indigenous-led Roots & Roofs post-remand housing stabilization program in Medicine Hat, AB, came at a critical moment. 

The 56-year-old has been working in British Columbia and Alberta for decades and living on-and-off in Medicine Hat for the last 15. 

But it51�Թ��� been a hard year. 

His employer lost out on a contract and laid him off, marking one of the first times he was without work since he was 14. Without family, income nor company-provided housing, Mark didn’t have his own place. He couldn’t find another job. 

Then he got sick; a doctor ordered tests for a spot on his lung. His brother died a month before Christmas.  

“Overnight, it can just happen to anybody, man. Anybody. You get sick and you lose your job, and then you got no income. It51�Թ��� scary,” he said. 

In December, Mark was arrested for disturbing the peace by Medicine Hat police at the motor home he was staying in and sent to a remand centre — a facility where people are held before their court proceedings and sentencing are finalized. 

“When I got released three weeks later, I had nothing. Nowhere to go. No money. The clothes on my back. That51�Թ��� it,” Mark said. 

He was released without charges from remand into homelessness and stayed on a friend51�Թ��� couch for a month. 

Then he got connected to Roots & Roofs. By February, Mark was accessing community resources and income supports. He even found an apartment that he could afford to rent. 

“When I met Alyssa [the program coordinator], she just took weight of the world off my shoulders … she went above and beyond for me. Above and beyond,” Mark said, as tears formed in his eyes. 

“It gives me back my dignity, my pride, makes me feel like part of the community again. I’m very grateful for it.” 

Housing stability is more than a roof over your head 

Mark was the first person housed through Roots & Roofs, which started in January 2026. The one-year project is a partnership between the Miywasin Friendship Centre, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), and the National Indigenous Homelessness Council (NIHC), a coalition of all Indigenous-led community entities and advisory boards across Canada. 

Roots & Roofs received $368,998 through the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF), a $45-million federal fund delivered by CAEH that supports data-driven improvement projects to measurably reduce homelessness at a population level, while developing lessons that can support similar efforts across Canada. 

The aim of Roots & Roofs is to reduce homelessness by increasing the number of people moving into housing in Medicine Hat every month, with a focus on people discharged from a remand centre.  

An estimated 30 per cent of people released from Canadian correctional institutes will face homelessness within two years. People released without stable and secure housing have a greater likelihood of re-entering the justice system, according to the .��

“Housing stabilization is about much more than having a roof over your head … Long-term housing stability is more likely when people are supported holistically and feel connected, valued, and like they belong in their community,” said Holly Gould, program manager with Miywasin. 

Early results show benefit of cultural connection 

The project is innovative in its focus on connection to community and culture as part of helping people maintain housing and reduce recidivism. 

Participants complete both a standard housing and needs assessment and a cultural wellness assessment grounded in Indigenous worldviews of wellness, belonging and community connection.  

An intensive case manager connects them with existing cultural programs and services in the community to support healing, while working with them to find safe and secure housing. A rent supplement is available for six months to reduce financial pressure and stress and bridge the income gap people experience after being discharged from remand. 

Early results show promising system improvements. Through the first eight months of Roots & Roofs, only one participant returned to remand.

The majority of Roots & Roofs participants who have secured housing have been able to maintain it, with 86 per cent of participants remaining housed after being supported to exit homelessness. 

This is an important lesson for Medicine Hat, as it works to continuously improve its homelessness response system and prevent people from falling back into homelessness after being housed. 

Since the project started in January, an average of two fewer people have re-entered homelessness from housing every month, dropping from an average of 8.6 people per month in January to an average of 6.5 people per month as of August 2026. 

“Housing stability comes when people have access to culture, traditional foods and medicines, ceremony, land-based practices, Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and a community where they feel welcomed and wanted,” Gould said. 

As people spend more time connected with Roots & Roofs, their engagement in community and cultural activities has continued to grow, whether they are Indigenous or not, Gould added. 

The project demonstrates the broader impact that Indigenous-led organizations can have in reducing and ending homelessness for all when they have adequate resources, said Francisco Urrutia, CAEH51�Թ��� lead improvement advisor for Medicine Hat. 

“Miywasin is bringing Indigenous worldviews and perspectives to improve the way the entire homelessness response system functions in the community,” said Urrutia. 

Indigenous-led from the beginning 

Roots & Roofs is the first HRIF project across Canada to be led by an Indigenous Community Entity. It was conceptualized, proposed and operated by Miywasin from the very beginning, with support from NIHC to map how data moves through the local homelessness response system and explore approaches to strengthen Indigenous data governance, roles and relationships. 

Miywasin also works closely with Medicine Hat Community Housing Society, the Designated Community Entity. MHCHS provides data support to help measure the impact of the project at the system level, while the two organizations maintain a strong working relationship responding to housing and homelessness needs in the community. 

“Indigenous communities know what Indigenous people need. Indigenous knowledge and ways of being cannot be added at the midpoint, or at the end of a project and be truly integrated,” said Gould. 

“When Indigenous people lead the work from the start, culture, community and belonging are woven into every part of it.” 

Indigenous people are disproportionately represented among those experiencing homelessness, and among those who are incarcerated. 

Nearly 32 per cent of all people incarcerated in Canada are Indigenous, according to the . That was an increase from 23 per cent in 2013. 

In the , almost one-third (30%) of all people experiencing homelessness in Canada identified as Indigenous — representing six times the proportion of Indigenous people among the total Canadian population. The proportion of Indigenous people experiencing unsheltered (40%) or hidden homelessness (46%) was even greater. 

The overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in both homelessness and corrections cannot be understood in isolation from the broader impacts of colonialism and the disruption of relationships to family, culture, community and land. 

“We recognize, as Indigenous scholar Jesse Thistle describes, that Indigenous homelessness is not only the absence of housing, but also the loss of relationships to family, culture, community, and land,” said Gould. 

“While this project is Indigenous-led and grounded in Indigenous ways of being, these teachings benefit everyone. The project welcomes both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants, and we see firsthand how cultural connection, community, ceremony, and holistic wellness strengthens all people51�Թ��� ability to heal and remain housed,” said Gould. 

Project making pivots and improvements along the way 

Homelessness is dynamic and complex, and HRIF projects are about learning what works. 

This project demonstrated that cultural and community connection improve housing stability, especially for people exiting remand. 

Throughout the process, Miywasin has been forced to make pivots and adjustments to the project as it aimed to meet its target of increasing the number of people moving into permanent housing, despite changes to the policy landscape and tightening rental market conditions. There have been several recent changes to provincial income assistance programs that have reduced the fixed incomes available to seniors, people who are unemployed, and people with disabilities.

“Even when I’m supporting people with higher levels of monthly income, it51�Թ��� still really hard to find a place. The financial piece is one thing, but the stigma is another,” said Alyssa Roads, the Roots & Roofs program coordinator. 

“A lot of landlords are very hesitant to rent to people who are accessing any form of social or community supports … and with people coming out of remand, for example, you’ve got a gap in rental history, and there51�Թ��� not one place [here] that doesn’t ask for rental history or references,” she added. 

There have also been provincial changes to the remand and corrections system, which has complicated the original referral pathways, making it difficult to connect with people before they are released into homelessness. 

In August 2026, CAEH published first-of-its-kind research that demonstrated the link between housing affordability, vacancy rates, and homelessness. 

In Medicine Hat, market conditions for the most affordable units are getting worse, according to a CAEH analysis of data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). 

From 2023 to 2025, the average monthly rent price for those lowest-cost units has increased by 14.3%, from $750 to $857. In that same time frame, the vacancy rates for those same units have dwindled to 0.5%, down from 2.7% just two years earlier. 

In practice, that means it’s incredibly difficult to find affordable places for participants in Medicine Hat and increase move-ins for people trying to exit homelessness, Roads said.

But in the spirit of continuous improvement, and with coaching support from improvement advisors at CAEH, Miywasin51�Թ��� project team has been testing small changes to improve their outcomes. 

Despite low vacancy rates, Roads has been reaching out to private landlords interested in prioritizing clients on income support. She51�Թ��� also been helping people connect with different community agencies to increase their incomes and address barriers to employment. 

The Roots & Roofs project team has also worked with additional agencies to expand referral pathways into the Roots & Roofs program from other institutional settings, including healthcare, treatment programs and child and family services. 

“This project has faced many challenges outside its control. But Miywasin has been flexible, making pivots as they encountered new difficulties and adapting the project to incorporate the lessons they’ve learned about their housing system,” said Urrutia. 

Miywasin51�Թ��� HRIF pilot will end in December 2026, but the lessons and system improvements will continue. 

“Roots & Roofs is helping create a more coordinated, effective and culturally responsive homelessness response in Medicine Hat and the surrounding region … demonstrating the value of culturally grounded, Indigenous-led approaches to homelessness prevention,” said Roads. 

*This Bright Spot was funded by the Government of Canada.

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Key Takeaways for Communities

• Building relationships with landlords can expand the housing options available to people experiencing homelessness. Recognizing there was an inadequate amount of non-market, supportive and deeply affordable housing units to meet the local need, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo leveraged support from the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund to establish a landlord liaison role in the community. By developing and maintaining relationships with landlords, they’re making better use of market housing already available in the community.
• People with very low incomes often can’t afford even the cheapest market rentals, but flexible financial assistance, like housing benefits, can bridge the affordability gap. Through the municipality51�Թ��� HRIF project, timely and flexible housing benefits remove a critical affordability barrier at the moment an individual is seeking housing and creates time to explore longer-term income and affordability options.  
• Supporting people after they move in is an important part of reducing returns to homelessness. Housing coordinators based in Fort McMurray continue providing intensive case management to build housing stability, help people advance personal goals, and intervene in at-risk tenancies to prevent housing loss. When a tenancy cannot be sustained, workers quickly help people secure another housing option to prevent a return to homelessness. 
• This HRIF project has helped the municipality double the average number of people exiting chronic homelessness every month. However, while outflow has increased, the municipality51�Թ��� data shows inflow into homelessness has also increased. In the spirit of continuous improvement and a relentless focus on reducing homelessness, the municipality and CAEH partnered on a second HRIF project aiming to address inflow. This serves the goal of reducing chronic homelessness overall. 

Jennifer Pittman’s job is to advise the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo how they can help more people exit homelessness faster. 

As a social program advisor for the regional municipality, which covers Fort McMurray and nine hamlets, Pittman looks at the entire homelessness response system, identifying opportunities for improvement and the resources needed to reduce and ultimately end homelessness. 

Ending homelessness isn’t a new concept for the community. 

In 2023, Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo ended homelessness for all veterans. Supported through Built for Zero–Canada, the municipality achieved Functional Zero Veteran Homelessness, which they continue to maintain, ensuring homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring for anyone with veteran status in the community. 

Now, the municipality has set its sights on reducing chronic homelessness. 

When applications opened for the first round of funding through the federal Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF), the community was eager to apply. 

HRIF is a $45-million Government of Canada fund, led by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), which supports data-driven improvement projects that aim to measurably reduce homelessness at a population level, and develops lessons that can support similar efforts across Canada.

“Going over our homelessness data every month with our CAEH improvement advisor really helped us sharpen our focus on what sort of project we wanted to do … she was always there to give us ideas on what we could improve, and her support was pivotal in getting approved for the project,” said Pittman. 

A key challenge to helping people exit homelessness is limited availability of nonmarket, deeply affordable and supportive housing options in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo. The private market units that are available are often more expensive than what people experiencing homelessness can afford with limited income. 

In September 2025, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo received $551,995 from HRIF to launch their 15-month project, the Collective Impact Initiative, in partnership with CAEH.  

The project created a new, dedicated landlord liaison position, funded two housing coordinators, and provided 30 housing benefits to bridge the affordability gap for people exiting chronic homelessness — those who have spent six months or more without a permanent home.  

“The landlord liaison helps expand different pathways to permanent housing. The housing benefit addresses affordability. Ongoing housing support helps people establish and maintain housing stability. Together, these strategies address multiple points where people can become stuck between experiencing homelessness and achieving a stable exit,” said Lori Richer, CAEH’s lead improvement advisor for the regional municipality. 

“Rather than looking for a single intervention to increase housing placements, Fort McMurray examined their entire pathway from homelessness to housing stability and identified the barriers that needed to be addressed at each stage,” Richer said. 

One year into the project, the community has been able to increase the number of people moving from chronic homelessness into their own homes. 

Prior to the project starting, an average of 4.6 people were supported to move into housing every month. Since September 2025, the community has doubled their monthly move-ins, with an average of 9.2 people exiting chronic homelessness every month. 

Once people experiencing homelessness are connected to a housing coordinator through the Collective Impact Initiative project, it takes an average of 37 days to find them permanent housing. That’s 10 days faster than what the community was historically able to do. 

Honesty and trust are crucial to building relationships with landlords 

When the project started, there was a real focus on learning and improving existing practices. 

“We started out thinking about what elements landlords have said they feel are missing in other programming, and worked from there to improve our existing documentation,” Pittman said. 

“With the information captured in our updated documents, the landlord liaison really started with a picture of what the individual was looking for and then were able to look for units based on what the individual’s needs and wants were,” Pittman said. 

The central innovation in this HRIF project is the creation of a landlord liaison, whose role is to connect people experiencing homelessness with market rentals and ensure housing stability, as well as strengthen relations with landlords. 

The liaison is responsible for contacting landlords to find new places for people to live and rent, helping landlords draft lease agreements, working with tenants to fill out their lease agreement, and doing monthly unit checks to support positive relations between the tenant and the landlord. 

“There is often a deep-rooted sense of bias toward people experiencing homelessness … and we’re asking landlords who may not have a lot of knowledge about homelessness to trust in this program and to give people a chance,” said Tayla Malott, the landlord liaison with the Collective Impact Initiative.

“I’m very honest and upfront about what the program does … how we’re there to support the tenants that are renting … and being supportive and listening to the concerns or the anxieties that landlords might have,” she said. 

Malott said she’s been able to find many landlords who understand the program and want to play a role in ending homelessness for their neighbours and fellow community members. 

“It’s not just about the rent being paid. It’s not just about filling units. It’s about supporting people in their community and being a part of something bigger,” she said. 

The landlord liaison has funding to cover damage deposits and make repairs in the infrequent cases where some damages have occurred.  

In a few cases where people have been evicted from a unit, Malott said she works with the tenant and their housing coordinator to find them a new place that better meets that person’s needs. 

“I see all 30 people supported through HRIF once a month. The majority of them are thriving, taking care of their space, making themselves dinner, and showing me around their space and having pride in what is now their home,” Malott said. 

Creating a dedicated landlord liaison also helped relieve some of the burden on housing coordinators, said Breanna MacDonald, the community services team lead at Wood Buffalo Wellness Society. 

“It takes a load off the case coordinator. I can be more focused one-on-one with the client and working on their goals, while the liaison works with the landlords. It also saves us time, so we aren’t spending hours looking for rentals, going for viewings, and meeting with landlords,” MacDonald said. 

‘This has helped reset my life’ 

Ashley is one of the people supported through the Collective Impact Initiative. 

She was living in a multi-generational family home, including with her two children, when there was a family breakdown with her parents and she had to leave her home. 

Without anywhere else to go, Ashley went to an emergency shelter. 

“I was terrified going in that day … I’ve never been in that situation, and I never thought I would be,” she said.

Ashley spent a year at the emergency shelter. Without the right support to find permanent housing, she thought she would never exit homelessness. 

“Everything is like $2,000 for rent here, so it’s really hard to find anything … it was the kids that I was worried about, and that was the biggest part, getting a place big enough for the three of us,” said Ashley. 

That’s when she met Caitlin, a Housing First coordinator with Salvation Army, hired to support the initiative. Within 32 days, Ashley had a signed lease for a three-bedroom apartment and was moving in, living with her teenage kids again after a year apart. 

“It’s been a few months, and we’re doing great. The kids are thriving here. We’ve got a park next door. We’re so close to the schools that they go to … it feels like home and I hope to be able to stay here for a long time,” Ashley said. 

“This has helped reset my life. I get to be a mom again.” 

Housing benefit bridges affordability gap 

Since moving into the house, Caitlin has worked with Ashley to connect her to longer-term income support, work on organizational skills, and connect her with parenting resources. 

Everyone that Caitlin supports has a history of chronic homelessness. Many have been experiencing homelessness for four or more years.

With the cost of housing, Caitlin said it is incredibly difficult to find a decent place for people to live that’s affordable for those with low incomes.  

The housing benefits have been essential to bridge the affordability gap, get people into housing immediately, and then start working on longer-term income options. Those other income options, whether it’s employment, social assistance, disability benefits, or longer-term housing benefits, often take longer to arrange and that can leave people stuck experiencing homelessness while they wait. 

“Being able to relieve that immediate financial pressure is such a big part of this,” said Caitlin. 

Municipal funding extends HRIF project, as community continues efforts 

The federal HRIF funding for the Collective Impact Initiative is set to end in November 2026.  

With the clear success of the project and ongoing community efforts, previously allocated funding was approved by the Community Advisory Board (the Homelessness Initiatives Strategic Committee) to support the program51�Թ��� continuation until March 31, 2027. 

Nonetheless, chronic homelessness has continued to grow in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. 

While outflow from homelessness has increased, meaning more people are exiting homelessness and finding permanent housing in Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo, inflow continues to be high, with more people entering chronic homelessness than leaving it. 

This project did improve the regional municipality51�Թ��� homelessness response system, but that improvement alone did not result in an overall reduction.

Instead of feeling defeated, they found the funding to extend the improvement project that did work, dug back into their quality By-Name Data to see why chronic homelessness continued to increase, and are trying another improvement project to meet their reduction goals. 

In April 2026, the municipality launched a second HRIF project, in partnership with CAEH, aiming to slow the inflow of people into homelessness by preventing it from happening in the first place.  

The project adds a diversion position focused on identifying people at risk of homelessness earlier and working with service providers to prevent people from falling into and getting stuck in emergency shelters and homelessness.  

“This is continuous improvement in action. As Fort McMurray knows from their success in ending veteran homelessness, this is how communities move from managing homelessness to ending it. They look at their data to see what’s working really well, and where are the opportunities to improve their homelessness response by stopping it from happening in the first place and helping more people find and maintain permanent homes faster,” said Richer. 

“Strong leadership, a united community, and a relentless focus on ending homelessness — that51�Թ��� how reductions happen.” 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

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Key Takeaways for Communities

• It51�Թ��� not enough to just build more housing. To reduce homelessness, communities need to know everyone experiencing homelessness by name, and match people with the right housing option and supports they need through coordinated access.
• Some people with higher levels of need require housing and support to find and maintain housing. Thanks to stable housing and comprehensive supports provided by on-site staff and community partners, residents at the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville51�Թ��� (UCLG) Movement to Improvement HRIF project have reported better physical and mental health, less involvement in the justice system, and a reduced calls to community emergency services like police and paramedics.  
• Strong political leadership and support, and close coordination between all levels of government does move the needle. UCLG51�Թ��� reduction in chronic homelessness happened because municipal, county, provincial and federal resources were used in coordination with non-profits to create and operate new permanent supportive housing.  
• Supported by HRIF, UCLG innovated their approach to bring all levels of government together for the first time to deliver both the housing units and the supports needed to help people with the highest level of need maintain their homes. 

At the far end of Brockville, Ont., there are rows upon rows of tiny homes, tucked away on a city-owned plot of grassy land overlooking the St. Lawrence River.  

A former dormitory-style building converted into 24 additional one-bedroom units sits alongside the tiny homes.  

These units, located on a previously vacant property, have become home to a community of 49 people previously experiencing chronic homelessness in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (UCLG), a mostly rural county located a couple hours’ drive west of Ottawa. 

The relatively rapid development of these 49 supportive housing units has helped UCLG reduce chronic homelessness by 49 per cent from October 2025 to August 2026.

“For many years, we had no resources … homelessness was increasing … and it was very defeating. You would see the same people coming in [looking for housing and support] day after day, and we didn’t really have anything to offer them,” said Tracy Birtch, who worked for the past five years as the team leader of homelessness for UCLG.  

“Seeing how something like this can come together and actually see some change, actually see some progress, actually see our numbers going down … just demonstrated that it is possible [to end homelessness],” she said.  

Using provincial funding through the Homelessness Prevention Program, the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative, and municipal funding, UCLG was able to construct the first 25 supportive cabins on land leased to the Counties by the City of Brockville. In support of the project, the City of Brockville waived the lease fee for the first year of operations.  

The John Howard Society (JHS) of Kingston and District signed on to operate the supportive housing and started filling the units in February 2025 with people who’ve been experiencing homelessness for the longest time, prioritized and referred from the county51�Թ��� By-Name Data (BND) and coordinated access table.  

Later that fall, UCLG entered into a strategic partnership with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), receiving $836,220 in federal funding from the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF) to open and staff an additional 24 one-bedroom supportive housing units in the adjacent building. HRIF supports data-driven improvement projects that aim to measurably reduce homelessness at a population level, while developing lessons that can support similar efforts across Canada.  

CAEH improvement advisors worked with UCLG to design the project based on community-level data and local needs. They provided ongoing coaching to ensure the project aligns with Housing First principles and to ensure onsite case management aligns with best practices, so every resident has access to the supports they need.  

The project helped usher into the county for the first time a new model of housing with intensive supports for people with the highest level of need, thanks to a blended funding model that combined municipal, county, provincial and federal resources along with sector expertise from non-profits.  

“It was one of the first times locally we saw our municipal government join the United Counties in the facilitation of this project with both provincial and federal funding dollars,” said Robyn Holmes, assistant executive director for JHS of Kingston and District.  

“We’ve had support from our local Member of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament … rooting for us and cheering us on every step of the way,” she said.  

This project demonstrates what is possible when political leaders make reducing homelessness a priority, and work together to make resources and homes available, said Francisco Urrutia, CAEH51�Թ��� lead improvement advisor for UCLG.  

“UCLG is working hard to build a strong homelessness response system. They know everyone experiencing homelessness by name, and agencies are working collectively to match people with the housing and supports they need,” Urrutia said.  

“This means they were primed to capitalize on the new supportive housing units and substantially reduce homelessness in the county by offering the right kind of housing and the right supports to those who’ve been experiencing homelessness the longest.”  

When housing comes first, healing follows closely  

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon, a team of people swept into a modular building beside the supportive cabins, sliding chairs to desks and setting up a makeshift medical examination room.  

Some were there to help residents apply for identification, get their health cards, sign up for the federal dental program or for provincial income assistance programs.  

Debbie Champ, a nurse practitioner with the Summit Community Paramedic outreach team, was there to do medical check-ups — an important service for many of the residents who don’t have a primary care physician, in a city without a walk-in clinic.  

“Without housing, how can you start to stabilize your food or have any healthcare? People are living under tremendous stress trying to figure out how to keep themselves safe, how to keep themselves warm … most people are just in survival mode all the time,” said Champ.  

“Without housing, they don’t have any chance of healthcare … so we go to them and that51�Թ��� what we’re doing here, because this is a place where many people who were formerly unhoused are living.”

While people are experiencing homelessness, healthcare mostly focuses on crisis response, making sure people have dry and warm clothes and shoes, sufficient food, and wound care. But once people have stable housing, then they can focus on normalizing their medication use and start to work on chronic health conditions and preventive healthcare, like diabetes, COPD, hypertension, vaccinations and cancer screenings, Champ said.  

Housing is a key social determinant of health. Stable, affordable housing is closely linked to reduced need for emergency health services and improved mental and physical health. First responders have told the John Howard Society that the number of emergency service calls they’ve received has declined since the supportive housing complex opened.  

That includes involvement with the justice system.  

Jessie had been homeless for several years in Brockville — sometimes staying on a friend51�Թ��� couch and sometimes trying to find a place to sleep outside.  

“One thing you take for granted is having access to a shower. I hate bad smells, so it drives me nuts to not have access to showers and basic human necessities,” he said.  

Jessie has been in and out of the legal system since he was a kid.  

“I have trust issues. I have troubles with authority. I have literally every acronym out there: ODD, ADHD, OCD, PTSD … I have troubles with a lot of social and other things that other people would find easy,” he said.  

This is just the second time since Jessie was 12 that he51�Թ��� been out of jail, off probation, and not facing any criminal charges. He credits that to his intensive case manager, who51�Թ��� helped him stay organized, get to court and follow his probation orders.  

“It takes a lot of anxiety off me … she just understood me. She took the time … she was very patient and persistent.”  

A permanent home for some, a ‘stepping stone’ for others  

Everyone offered a place at the supportive housing program in UCLG had been experiencing homelessness for six months or longer.  

Steve became homeless and spent almost a year living on the street after his apartment complex burned down in a fire.  

Jerry never experienced homelessness until his dad passed away, but he couldn’t pay rent and ended up living outside for several years.   

Kevin worked his entire life, buying his own home at 19. After a family breakdown, he moved out of the house, staying with friends or in shorter-term rentals. After a severe illness left him permanently unable to work, and an unexpected eviction from his bedbug-infested rental, Kevin became stuck in homelessness for several years.  

“I went from owning a house to now, I’m homeless, all within a couple years. It was just total downhill, one after another … I thought it wasn’t going to end for a long time. Things just kept getting worse and worse,” he said.  

For all three men, born and raised in Brockville, it was an unexpected series of unplanned crises that cost them their homes. With rental prices surging and a lack of deeply affordable housing, they became entrenched in homelessness.  

“It took a lot of time, but here I am. Things are starting to look better,” Kevin said.  

At the supportive housing program, people have a permanent place to call home. They can stay as long as they like. But there are supports available for those who want to find their own place and live more independently in private market or nonmarket housing.  

That51�Թ��� the goal for all three.  

“This place is a stepping stone to get back into my own place … I’m looking for something nice, something small … but it51�Թ��� a money thing, and I think it is for most of the people here. They can’t afford it. Either you pay your rent or you starve,” said Steve.  

There has been a reduction in the number of units in the area that are deeply affordable for people experiencing homelessness and with the lowest income, said Robyn Holmes of the JHS for Kingston and District.  

The local John Howard Society is trying to build more relationships with local landlords and are exploring a wide range of additional housing options, including room rentals and family networks, but affordable options are still quite limited in a small community like Brockville, Holmes said.  

Meanwhile, housing subsidies can help bridge the gap between someone51�Թ��� income and the price of rent, but they are few in number, difficult to access — often requiring a lease in hand — and are not long-term subsidies, which puts someone with a fixed income at risk of falling back into homelessness if the subsidy ends.

“Ultimately, we want to see everyone in safe housing that is appropriate and accessible for them and their physical, mental and emotional needs. That51�Թ��� what they deserve,” said Holmes.  

The United Counties has a 10-year plan to reduce homelessness, including a goal to create 150 supportive housing units by 2035. This supportive housing complex has helped UCLG reach one-third of that goal.  

But to reduce, end and ultimately prevent homelessness, the county needs more deeply affordable, nonmarket and supportive housing, with the resources to offer the supports people need to maintain their homes for the long-term. 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

The post United Counties of Leeds and Grenville reduces chronic homelessness by 49%, as HRIF project expands supportive housing options appeared first on 51�Թ��� to End Homelessness.

Key Takeaways for Communities

• Non-market and private market landlords have a crucial role to play in ending homelessness—preventing it before it happens by working with tenants to understand issues that are challenging the tenancy, and offering supports where possible. 

• There are many agencies and resources in every community that are working toward the same goal: keeping people housed. No one agency or landlord can offer the full range of supports that people need. Find those agencies in your community—often they’ll be at the coordinated access table.

• The National Conference to End Homelessness gave Dana White the knowledge, the tools and the contacts to help Civida, the largest community housing provider in Edmonton, prevent evictions and foster more successful tenancies.

Doors for coming and going. A wall of steel mailboxes. Elevators pinging.  

Looking at it, you might think this is a typical lobby. It51�Թ��� anything but. 

For staff and residents at O’Day-min Village, the lobby is a gathering place. 

On this day, Aunty Donna has come by for the weekly “Cooking with Aunty” session. People take turns learning to make bannock, and cook dozens of burgers for a community barbecue, thanks to a partnership with the community agency Amity House. 

Residents decorate small leaves to hang on a lobby tree. 

A nearby grocery store drops off boxes of donations — fresh bread and fruit — for residents to take, as needed. 

“It51�Թ��� the Grand Central station of it all … it51�Թ��� for those high fives with staff when somebody got a job interview. It51�Թ��� for the conversations when someone is struggling with something,” said Dana White, a district manager with Civida, the largest community housing provider in Edmonton. 

The complex is filled with a diverse cross-section of people, from families to seniors, newcomers to Canada to people with long histories experiencing homelessness, and relationships across age, cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversities, all living under one roof. 

When Civida acquired the 149-unit apartment complex in 2023, it became the largest singular expansion of community housing in Edmonton in years. One hundred units are deeply affordable, with residents paying a set price of 30 per cent of their income, and the remaining units are near-market rentals, costing 20 per cent below market rent. 

But Civida didn’t just want to expand their housing stock. They wanted to try something different to reduce evictions and build community — something they’ve worked hard to accomplish in the last three years. 

“It51�Թ��� certainly not just managing housing, and it51�Թ��� not just managing tenants. It is making sure every tenant here feels that they’re part of a community and that they’re loved. And we’ve seen such a difference when somebody knows they’re cared for and safe,” said White. 

When White started with Civida as a compliance clerk, her job included working with tenants whose housing was already at risk of being ended due to financial, behavioural or lease-related issues.

But, listening to tenants she heard stories of past trauma. People who didn’t feel heard or valued. Family breakdowns. Physical and mental health struggles. Job loss.   

“I ask them, ‘where would you be if you weren’t here?’ And generally, it51�Թ��� couch surfing, or at a shelter, or out on the street begging for a home,” White said. 

“The stakes are so high. When you’re in community housing, you’re already so vulnerable. You’re struggling financially. There51�Թ��� no place to go.” 

More than 3,700 people in Edmonton are experiencing homelessness, according to the . The vast majority have been homeless for more than six months. 

Shifting from compliance to eviction prevention 

In 2023, White attended the National Conference on Ending Homelessness in Halifax. 

“I cried every day I was there in the best ways. I made notes in every breakout room. I was extremely inspired. It was so simple: Nobody wants to lose their home. And if you don’t want to lose your home, and I can help you … let51�Թ��� connect, let51�Թ��� come up with a plan together,” she said.  

White said she learned more about the realities and common barriers to housing facing people experiencing homelessness. She was equipped with the tools and resources she needed to help prevent evictions, learning from experts across the country. 

She learned she wasn’t alone in wanting to do this work. 

“Those agencies are out there, and I suppose I didn’t know we could go get them. I didn’t know we could say, ‘Hey, I have a tenant who is about to be evicted, here51�Թ��� their story that I’m sharing with permission. What is it that your organization can do?’” 

White left the conference armed with contacts, empowered to build bridges with other agencies that shared the same goal of keeping people housed.

It was the exact knowledge she needed to support Civida51�Թ��� ongoing transformation toward being more than just a landlord and focusing on sustainable tenancies. 

Now, instead of just moving to evict people, White and her team have conversations, and offer connection, care and support. Building trust as a foundation to honest, two-way communication is the magic key, she said. 

“Now that I know what you’re struggling with, let51�Թ��� see who can help. Maybe it51�Թ��� Civida, but it51�Թ��� generally our community partners. I come back to my office and start sending out emails, with consent, saying ‘hey, we have this tenant, this is what they’re struggling with — food insecurity, arrears, domestic violence, addiction,” said White. 

“And 99 per cent of the time, people are coming to the table. The tenant has agreed to the help, and that tenancy is now on the way to being successful, sustainable and healthy.” 

As the District B Housing Clerk, Doreen says her job is mostly “chasing people for accounts and paperwork,” ensuring tenants are submitting the necessary documents and paying their rent. 

Many residents come in with existing, often multi-generational trauma of housing instability and a challenging relationship with prior landlords, potentially including a history of being evicted. 

Some new tenants expect the same treatment from Civida, Doreen said. Instead, she prioritizes building relationships with tenants founded on trust. When issues come up, she helps problem solve, which can look like connecting them to community-based resources or having open and frank conversations.

“When I’m honest with them and I’m helpful, they start to trust me, and they’ll start coming before the problem escalates to the point where their tendency is shaky,” said Doreen. 

She is regularly in contact with other agencies in the community that offer support to tenants. 

Some time ago, she connected with Bent Arrow, an Indigenous traditional healing society with housing programs in Edmonton. Together, they helped many tenants overcome significant rent arrears, creating stability for families who were at risk of losing their housing. 

‘People need people’ 

Sharon, 67, is one of the first people that White met when she started working for Civida.  

She moved into the building in 2020. Sharon is short and spirited, standing at just 4’9”. 

“I used to be 5’1, you know.” 

For years, she drove transport trucks and heavy machinery across Western Canada. Her career and source of income ended abruptly when she broke her back. 

For 10 years, Sharon lived on and off in her car, until she was offered a place in her current home in 2020, before it was taken over by Civida. 

“I didn’t know anybody. Everybody was cheery. I went to bed that night and I thought, no rain to get me? That51�Թ��� new … this is an awesome place. They made me feel welcome,” she said.

To say Sharon doesn’t get along with everyone would be an understatement. She51�Թ��� quick to call out residents for behaviours she doesn’t like and is apt to take things into her own hands if she doesn’t think those behaviours are being dealt with appropriately. 

“I’m just me, right. I’m in your face. Bold. And if you can’t do it right, get out of here. And Civida seems to get me, because I’m still here. They haven’t kicked me out yet, and I’m pretty sure they have grounds,” she said. 

But Sharon likes most of the tenants at O’Day-min Village. 

“People need people. We need somebody that, if I want to sit and talk to, I can. Just anybody that walks past me, if I’m not having a good day, they’ll ask me what51�Թ��� wrong … they tell me it51�Թ��� going to be better,” she said. 

Carmen feels that same sense of community. She spends most of her days in the resource room and the community garden, right by the lobby at O’Day-min. She usually gets the coffee going in the mornings, and welcomes new residents when they move in. 

It51�Թ��� a big change since she moved in four years ago.

“I was an angry person. I was mad at the world. I didn’t talk to anybody, I just kept to myself.” 

She was wracked with grief, having just lost her husband and her house in a fire. Unable to stay in her home First Nation, Carmen moved to Edmonton and was accepted into O’Day-min after months splitting time between her daughter51�Թ��� place and a hotel. 

“The staff here care about you. They helped me grow, I just see so much of a difference in the four years that I’ve been here. And now it51�Թ��� just like my big happy family here. I don’t have to feel alone,” Carmen said. 

Building community must be intentional 

David Berger worked to build community at O’Day-min Village from 2023 to 2025 as the Community Connector, in a pilot project funded by the city. 

When he started, Berger said there was already a sense of community in the building, thanks in large part to one longtime resident named Tim. 

He would make birthday cakes for residents on their birthdays, and hosted a monthly barbecue for the entire building, food cooked and paid for exclusively by Tim alone. He took a lead role in caring for the community garden. 

Tim died in the spring of 2026, but his legacy of bringing residents together for shared meals continues to this day. 

Part of Berger51�Թ��� work involved creating additional social opportunities like bingo nights and movie nights. But he also focused on identifying residents’ needs and bringing in community agencies who could help people build greater financial and food security and improve their physical and mental health. 

“Our driving motive was to bring both the enjoyment side of things, but also on the service side to help people feel connected to the supports that they needed,” Berger said.

Many people living in social or community housing are struggling with personal and multi-generational trauma, but they don’t have needs acute enough to require permanent supportive housing, which often has 24/7 onsite support services. 

The challenge for social housing providers is to take that next step beyond just housing, to look at the fundamental causes why people feel disengaged or marginalized by the broader community and think about what it means to help residents heal at their own pace, Berger said. 

“Social housing providers know that a roof over one51�Թ��� head is not enough. But the gap is really the ability to find the money that would help bring resources and build that sense of community.” 

When those housing providers find a way to build community and offer those supports, it has the potential to change lives and create housing security. 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

The post Putting eviction prevention at the heart of successful tenancies in Edmonton51�Թ��� community housing appeared first on 51�Թ��� to End Homelessness.

Key Takeaways for Communities

• An initial scan of existing services and gaps can show opportunities for innovation and improvement. When designing their Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund project, PEI identified a gap in addressing youth homelessness and created a project that found its niche while complementing existing programs.

• Structural barriers like high rental prices and limited affordable and non-market housing pose challenges but also create space for innovation. To increase move-ins, PEI adapted and cultivated positive relationships with private landlords, who became interested in opening their units to more youth.

• Relationships with high schools, family child services, and youth corrections can help identify youth under 18 who are experiencing homelessness and require support.

• Early lessons learned from this first round HRIF project highlighted another gap in the system—preventing people (and youth especially) from re-entering homelessness after finding housing. This led to the development of PEI51�Թ��� second round HRIF project.

The first time she walked into her one-bedroom apartment, Jayden fell to the floor. 

“I was just really happy to have my own place … I can touch everything. It51�Թ��� my floor. It51�Թ��� my place,” she said. 

The moment Jayden, 20, got the keys in October 2025 marked the end of a long period of homelessness and housing instability in her young life. 

“I’m not worried about where to put my stuff, and where I’m going to sleep. I know that I can wake up in the morning, get ready, smell good, look nice, and go to college,” said Jayden. 

“I can do all my work, and I know whenever I come home, I’m going to have a nice, warm place to go.” 

Jayden got the support she needed from the Youth Wraparound Housing Program, a partnership between the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) and the John Howard Society of Prince Edward Island (PEI) to increase the number of youth moving from homelessness into housing every month. 

It was funded through the $45-million Government of Canada51�Թ��� Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF), delivered by CAEH, which supports data-driven improvement projects that aim to measurably reduce homelessness at a population level, while developing lessons that can support similar efforts across Canada. 

The Youth Wraparound Housing Program received $328,000 to hire two full-time youth caseworkers to work directly with youth, a community engagement housing specialist to build relationships with landlords and mitigate tenancy concerns, and short-term financial supports to address barriers that young people experience to find and maintain housing. 

The project aims to reduce youth homelessness by helping an additional 11 youth move from homelessness to housing over the course of the year. 

Three-quarters of the way through the project, the team already supported 19 youth to exit homelessness. 

‘Makes me feel like someone actually cares’ 

Jayden first became homeless at 14, struggling with her mental health and in her relationship with her mother and stepfather. 

“I ended up leaving home because I was like, ‘I can do it myself. I’m strong and old.’ And I ended up living outside in the middle of January for a month and a half,” she said. 

There was a lot of couch surfing over the next few years, until Jayden got involved with the youth justice system, and started living at a group home.

At 19, Jayden ran away to the United States. 

“I left with someone who I thought was a good person. I ended up homeless. It was terrifying. Very scary. I didn’t know anything about America. I didn’t have money. I didn’t have anything. It was just me and my dog,” she said. 

Eventually, Jayden got support to return to Canada, and moved back in with her mom and stepfather, until her parents separated and Jayden began couch surfing again. 

During that time, she attended a life management program for youth, and later went to the REACH Foundation in Charlottetown, which offers programming for youth to focus on their mental health and gain employment skills, working at the in-house social enterprise. That51�Թ��� when Jayden was referred to the John Howard Society51�Թ��� Youth Wraparound Housing Program. 

Steshonia Hall, one of the youth housing caseworkers hired to the HRIF project, helped Jayden get connected to income assistance in PEI, and eventually find apartment. 

“If I have a problem or anything happens, I can call her up immediately, and she’ll do her best to help me. When we were looking for these apartments, she came over at like 8 p.m., like she was never off the clock,” Jayden said. 

“I didn’t have that kind of support growing up, so having that support now, it makes me feel like someone actually cares,” she said. 

Wraparound support, landlord relations critical components of project 

Hall says she wants young people in PEI to know they’re not alone. If they’re experiencing homelessness, the team at John Howard Society of PEI is ready and equipped to help, she said. 

“You might be going through this difficult experience, but it51�Թ��� not a life sentence. We are here to give you this opportunity to find a sense of direction and purpose that can transform your life,” said Hall. 

As a youth caseworker, Hall says her job is to help youth find housing, but the support doesn’t end there. 

“There are possible underlying issues impacting them and could contribute to how they’re able to maintain housing. We’re preparing youth to stand on their own two feet … so they’re able to identify where, when, and how to access resources while they maintain that rental and their independence,” she said.

Finding housing that51�Թ��� affordable is a challenge, said Josh Constantinou, the Coordinated Access Coordinator for PEI with the John Howard Society. 

Social assistance rates are not on par with the cost of living, and investments in new affordable, supportive and non-market housing have not yet addressed the high cost of rent nor the astronomically low vacancy rate, he said.

“We can’t sit around and wait for that to happen. It requires getting creative and looking for opportunities to maximize partnerships or the pathways that might exist.”

The project team has newly started engaging with private landlords in a very targeted way, to identify more affordable units that could be made available for youth to rent. Constantinou said two new elements have helped the team build strong relationships. 

First, they drafted an agreement document that51�Թ��� shared with potential landlords to clarify the supports that John Howard staff can provide, and how everyone can contribute to a successful tenancy. This has created open, transparent conversations with landlords interested in renting to young people, Constantinou said. 

Youth participants in the wraparound housing program also have the option to share an anonymous bio with potential landlords, including information about their housing history, family situation, hobbies, or education and employment goals, to add a more personal element for the landlords to consider. 

The project follows Housing First principles, so the anonymous bio is not mandatory, Constantinou said. But there has been a very positive response from landlords. 

“When you don’t know the tenant that you’re getting, sometimes your brain jumps to worst case scenario, and they think of all the terrible experiences they’ve had in the past and the horror stories they’ve heard … but with more information, the landlord becomes way more open and receptive,” Constantinou said. 

He added they’ve already had so many positive experiences, several private landlords are interested in renting to additional youth, to help them exit homelessness. 

Early lessons lead to a second HRIF project 

When the John Howard Society started looking to develop an HRIF project with CAEH in early 2025, there wasn’t a lot of data on youth homelessness in PEI, Constantinou said. 

At first, Constantinou said they wanted to create a youth homelessness project that was all-encompassing, addressing homelessness prevention, housing, and post-housing supports. 

But with the support of CAEH improvement advisors, Constantinou said they looked closer at the By-Name Data, a database with timely information about who was entering, exiting and actively experiencing homelessness. 

They found that zero youth exited homelessness over the prior four months. 

“We weren’t seeing any movement. We weren’t able to successfully secure and find housing for youth … so our improvement advisor helped us hone our project a little more and focus on one element: move-ins,” said Constantinou. 

The project staff built relationships with organizations already working with youth — from family and child services to youth justice services to student well-being teams in high schools — and started receiving referrals of youth experiencing homelessness. 

But they also received referrals of youth precariously housed and facing homelessness, who technically were not eligible for a youth project targeting move-ins. Targeted prevention and diversion was a clear gap in their services, Constantinou said.

In January 2026, PEI successfully launched the Prevention and Diversion Program, a new project, funded during the second round of HRIF applications, to provide short-term financial support and case management to people who exited homelessness in the past three years, but are now at risk of returning to homelessness. 

“What we’ve found already is when you pair the financial piece with support, they can be successful on a longer-term basis in maintaining their housing,” Constantinou said. 

The provincial government had previously supported a similar project. With the development of the new HRIF-funded Prevention and Diversion Program, renewed conversations between the John Howard Society and the province resulted in an additional $100,000 provided to increase funding and directly help more people experiencing homelessness. 

These two projects are great examples, where PEI has identified gaps in their homelessness response system using timely By-Name Data and is working with CAEH to test ideas with data-driven projects to reduce homelessness, said Dawn Wheadon, CAEH51�Թ��� lead Improvement Advisor for PEI. 

“I’m incredibly proud of the work PEI has done and continues to do. This is exactly the intention of the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund: to bring a community together with the shared goal of reducing homelessness, test an idea with a data-driven project, and innovate to maximize impact,” Wheadon said. 

“The projects have led to new cross-sectoral collaborations and brought multiple levels of government together to urgently address the crisis of homelessness. That51�Թ��� what we can do together.” 

This Bright Spot was funded by the Government of Canada.

The post Prince Edward Island blazes a path forward to house youth experiencing homelessness with HRIF project appeared first on 51�Թ��� to End Homelessness.

It feels like she51�Թ��� going back in time, Ashley said. 

Before her struggles with substance use and mental health. Before the overdoses and the abusive relationships. Before the stints in and out of jail. In and out of homelessness. 

Back to a time of independence and stability. 

“A lot of my stress is gone. I know I have a place. I know it51�Թ��� mine now. I’ve already showered there. I slept there. My room51�Թ��� done,” she said. 

In February 2026, Ashley moved into an apartment of her own in St. Thomas, Ontario, for the first time in a decade. She had previously spent several years experiencing homelessness and precarious housing, before living for the last four years in two separate permanent supportive housing programs operated by Indwell, a charity focused on building affordable and supportive housing in southern Ontario. 

“Indwell was a good stepping stone, but I’m ready to leave it. There51�Թ��� a lot more support there, but I’m doing better, and I just don’t need it,” Ashley said.

She credits St. Thomas-Elgin’s newest addition to their homelessness response system, a dedicated homelessness prevention team, with giving her the confidence and help she needed to take the leap. 

“When it came to the point of me having a place, trying to put it all together, that51�Թ��� where I struggled and I wouldn’t do it. I had housing arranged four times, that I gave up … I had it all, but it was trying to figure out the funding part,” said Ashley.

The prevention team, made up of two full-time housing caseworkers with access to a flex fund to support housing stabilization, was created in October 2025 thanks to a partnership with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), and funding from the federal Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF). 

HRIF supports data-driven improvement projects that aim to measurably reduce homelessness at a population level, while developing lessons that can support similar efforts across Canada. 

The project aimed to reduce chronic homelessness in St. Thomas-Elgin by 29 per cent by reducing the total number of people returning to homelessness after successfully being housed. 

And the community has been finding success. 

Prior to October 2025, an average of 3.6 people lost their housing and returned to chronic homelessness each month. Since the HRIF project began, the community has seen an average of roughly one person per month return to homelessness. 

That has helped the community reduce chronic homelessness by 36.7 per cent since June 2025. 

“Returns from housing are one metric that homelessness response systems measure and address when trying to make homelessness reductions,” said Chantal Perry, CAEH51�Թ��� lead improvement advisor for St. Thomas-Elgin. 

“By reducing the number of people falling back into homelessness through this HRIF project, we’re seeing deep reductions in chronic homelessness in St. Thomas-Elgin,” Perry said. 

This is the latest accomplishment in a series of many milestones for St. Thomas-Elgin, which has long been committed, from senior community leaders to frontline workers, to making homelessness rare, brief, and non-recurring, Perry said. 

HRIF project contributing to reduction in homelessness 

Historically, St. Thomas-Elgin has been really effective at helping people move from homelessness into housing, said John D’Oria, the supervisor of housing stability services with St. Thomas-Elgin Social Services. 

But when the community looked at their data with the help of their CAEH improvement advisor, they noticed a gap, with a relatively high number of people losing their housing. 

That51�Թ��� how the HRIF project was born, originally to prevent people from returning to homelessness. 

But as the one-year project was implemented, D’Oria said they identified additional situations where the support of housing caseworkers was essential to ensure housing stability. 

“With some folks, the tenancy was unsalvageable, because of certain extenuating circumstances, like they go to hospital and they’re not going to return … so we have to pivot. An exit to homelessness is going to happen, but how do we work over the next 30 days to make sure they land back on their feet,” said D’Oria. 

“About a quarter of the people we’ve been working with, we’ve had to rehouse in some capacity. As their story unfolds, you’re unfolding your support with them and finding solutions as you go,” he said. 

The two housing caseworkers are supporting a total of 40 households. To date, all of them are maintaining stable housing, D’Oria said. 

Among those 40 households are people like Ashley, who have been supported to move from an environment with intensive supports to independent housing. 

“Ashley51�Թ��� story shows what51�Թ��� possible over the spectrum of housing. Her journey started unsheltered, and then moved to Railway City Lofts, and then to The Station, [two highly intensive supportive housing programs]. This program helped her get over the hump, get her into the private market … and focus on what is on the other side of her experience with homelessness,” he said.

“When you put her journey together over the course of a five-year window, you can see this is a totally different life that she51�Թ��� able to live now because of the solutions and support that are available,” said D’Oria. 

In this case, it also meant that a unit became available in the supportive housing program, which was offered to help another person exit homelessness and receive the higher level of support that they need, D’Oria said.  

This flow within the system, enabled by the HRIF project, in turn opens resources for more people who can move out of homelessness and into permanent housing in St. Thomas-Elgin. 

Connecting with new landlords, and resolving conflicts 

Ashley said she was ready to leave the supportive housing environment, no longer needing the intensive supports offered — like guest management policies, room checks, and meal service. 

But without the support of the HRIF project team, she doesn’t think she’d have taken the step to look for and secure her own place. 

“I’d probably be signing for another four years [at The Station],” she said. 

Eleisha Oldfield, one of the two housing caseworkers, did the research to find an affordable rental and booked an appointment for Ashley.

“They assisted me with going to the apartment, making it more comfortable … they did a lot of the talking at the interview. I didn’t because I was nervous,” Ashley said. 

“[Even now that I’ve moved], if I have any stress, not understanding stuff, I can go to the prevention team, knowing I still have a support system,” she added. 

A big part of the housing caseworker job is to build relationships with landlords and help mediate conflicts as they arise to mend relations and prevent evictions, said Oldfield. 

“If we can make those connections, it really helps … it is extremely difficult finding affordable units … I know another landlord, she51�Թ��� offered that once some of her current tenants leave, she wants me to fill those units,” Oldfield said. 

Flex fund helps with housing stability 

When a person starts working with the prevention team, they typically require a more intensive level of support, said Stephanie Bezaire, a housing caseworker with the HRIF project. 

“They might be facing eviction or leaving a program or they’ve found their own place. That is all really scary for folks. We’re pretty hands-on in the beginning, and then over the last six months, I’ve noticed a natural decrease in the amount of support needed,” Bezaire said. 

Having access to a pot of flexible funding is important to pay for things that help with housing stability, whether that51�Թ��� one-time funding to help pay a bit of missing rent, or specialized hoarding support services — both things that can prevent evictions. 

But there are other daily items that help with people51�Թ��� stability. 

In one person51�Թ��� case, his mental health started to decline when his unit became more disorganized. But the purchase of a dresser meant he could organize his clothes and keep his unit tidier. 

In another case, a man51�Թ��� mental health would decline in the evenings, leading him to pace in the unit all night, disturbing other tenants and leading to some tension. The team was able to purchase a television, so instead of pacing, he was able to put his mind at ease. 

“By no means is this program a substitute for folks that need medically intensive support … but it dovetails really well. The dresser was a $120 solution that the healthcare system doesn’t have,” D’Oria said. 

“It51�Թ��� those simple solutions that prevent homelessness before it starts,” he added. 

A roadmap to preventing homelessness 

More broadly, D’Oria says this HRIF project has helped the community shift their focus from crisis response to prevention and envision the supports that will be needed once they’ve solved chronic homelessness. 

“As we see less and less individuals on our By-Name Data … this project has allowed us to learn where we see the puck going … in the direction of housing stability, getting more upstream, more preventative,” he said. 

In a community that51�Թ��� already close-knit, already rallying around the shared goal of ending homelessness, HRIF has given St. Thomas-Elgin a tool to partner with health, with justice, with housing providers and with landlords, strengthening the entire homelessness response, D’Oria said. 

“Chronic homelessness is solvable, and it51�Թ��� solvable one person at a time, one housing placement at a time.” 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

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Key Takeaways for Communities

• Input from Lived experts is essential to improve homelessness response systems.

• To make this input meaningful, and improve transparency and accountability, community agencies must close the feedback loop by reporting back to lived experts.

• Lived experts should be paid a living wage for their contributions, offered support for transportation, and given access to trainings where possible.

The Lived Expert Advisory has a list. 

It51�Թ��� filled with agencies that offer a range of homelessness, mental health and addictions services and programs in Niagara Region.     

Nearly every month, a new agency is invited to present before the group of roughly 20 people, all with experience of homelessness and at various stages in their housing journeys. 

The members of Niagara51�Թ��� Lived Expert Advisory, valued as subject matter experts, are paid a living wage to be there, to share their experiences and insight that will help organizations adapt their work to better meet the needs in the community.

“It shows insight on the part of the leaders to ask for the insight from the people who are experiencing homelessness, the end users of the programs and services they offer,” said Ryan Logtenberg, who joined the advisory nearly a decade ago after some six years of staying in emergency overnight shelters and sleeping on people51�Թ��� couches.

“If you’re trying to develop a system that51�Թ��� going to help people, you want to have that input from the people that it51�Թ��� helping. And their experiences, they’re going to let you know what51�Թ��� working, what51�Թ��� not working,” Logtenberg added.

One of the unique features of Niagara51�Թ��� Lived Expert Advisory is that they require agencies to come back to the group and share how the advice and recommendations were implemented. 

They call it closing the feedback loop. 

Closing the feedback loop 

“This is a population that is used to being watched, but not seen.”  

That51�Թ��� a quote by Father Greg Boyle, when speaking about his work with former gang members in the United States. It51�Թ��� a quote that David Michels, manager of homelessness services for Niagara Region, thinks of often as it relates to people experiencing homelessness. 

An increasingly common practice for agencies is to reach out to people with lived experience of homelessness and ask for feedback or guidance. 

“We always felt like there51�Թ��� this part of the story that51�Թ��� missing, where you go back to the person and say, ‘hey, I actually heard what you said, and this is the change that we’ve made,’” said Michels.

By closing the feedback loop, Michels says the Lived Expert Advisory is not only creating more accountability and transparency about how this feedback is being used, but it also shifts the power dynamic. 

“You hear people in the group say, ‘I’ve made change. I can be a change agent. I can have things altered that I don’t agree with, and someone did hear me,’” he said. 

This is an important initiative to ensure continuous improvement within the Region51�Թ��� homelessness response system, says Chantal Perry, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness51�Թ��� lead Improvement Advisor for Niagara Region. 

“The expertise from people with lived experience is central to designing better homelessness response systems, addressing gaps in the system, and ultimately reducing and ending homelessness. Niagara51�Թ��� model demonstrates a way to ensure the recommendations from lived experts is being incorporated in a meaningful way,” Perry said. 

‘People value what we have to say’ 

Donna remembers how weird it felt to have someone actually listen. 

For more than 35 years, she struggled with substance use, addiction and homelessness. 

“When you’re in addiction, it feels like nobody wants anything to do with you. It51�Թ��� like your word has no meaning … and you don’t feel welcomed in very many spaces,” Donna said. 

“Coming into the Lived Expert Advisory was a totally different experience. People value what we have to say. People were listening because they know we have so much experience in our life that is valuable in developing programs,” she said.

Now, Donna works as a peer support worker with REACH Niagara, an agency providing healthcare services to people experiencing homelessness, and has been in recovery for the past four years.

Many of the agencies will come in and explain the programs and services they offer, or their plans for a new service. Then, they’ll ask if people have had experience with these kinds of services, what their experiences were, what they can change and do better, how they can reach more people that need these supports. 

“Our recommendations are changing lives. And that to me is the most important part of it. That51�Թ��� what my sobriety is about … that people can hear my stories and start down a different path. It51�Թ��� incredible,” said Donna. 

Impact at all levels of the community 

The feedback from the Lived Expert Advisory has been incorporated into all kinds of agencies. 

In 2023, the advisory group developed a list of 10 recommendations for the region to change or improve how they respond to and reduce homelessness. 

Those recommendations included ensuring there are enough safe, affordable housing for everyone experiencing homelessness, more accessible and discrimination-free mental health and addictions supports, more trained peer support workers, and the inclusion of people with lived experience in homelessness response services. 

“Community members experiencing homelessness need to be included meaningfully to be a part of the solution. We are community members. We are not a problem for others to solve,” said one of the ten recommendations. 

Marni Katzman, the co-chair of the Lived Expert Advisory, presented the recommendations to the Downtown Safety and Well-Being Committee, which included the mayor and other members of city council.

Now, she sits on the committee. 

“They take our input very seriously, which is a good feeling, to actually visually see them react. They tell us how much they value us as experts in these unfortunate situations,” said Katzman.

 Two years ago, Niagara Region presented their plans to introduce a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub and received a lot of feedback on everything from where the hub should be located to the kinds of programs that should be offered. 

Katzman says it51�Թ��� powerful to see those recommendations now implemented with the opening of the HART Hub. 

More recently, the supportive housing strategy came to speak with the lived experts about the plan as it is being developed, how they define low, medium and higher acuity, and how systems should be supporting people with different levels of need. 

A follow-up meeting is scheduled for the Niagara Region team developing the strategy to come back and share how the feedback will be implemented. 

“It makes me emotional. There are some meetings where it51�Թ��� so powerful that there are tears involved … it51�Թ��� the passion for the community. Everybody knows everybody in the homeless community, and unfortunately, there51�Թ��� a lot of death,” Katzman said. 

For many lived experts, including those actively experiencing homelessness, the recommendations they are providing can mean the difference between life and death. 

Living wage, transportation and other opportunities offered 

The size and composition of the Lived Expert Advisory changes each month, depending on people51�Թ��� availability and capacity to participate. 

There are some regulars, who attend most months, and others that have dropped in just once or twice. Some have been stably housed for several years, while others are staying in shelters or encampments. 

The diversity of voices is important, Michels says, because each person51�Թ��� experience is unique and homelessness response services need to be able to meet people wherever they’re at in their housing journeys. 

The meetings are often hosted at a shelter, and they will soon be hosted in different locations throughout Niagara Region to improve accessibility for people living outside the main city centre of St. Catharines. 

Means of transportation to the meetings are always provided, Michels said, and everyone is paid an honorarium at the rate of a living wage for their participation and sharing their expertise. 

If some members express an interest to learn more about a certain topic, the homelessness services division at Niagara Region sometimes can offer the ability to attend additional meetings or seminars outside of the regular monthly meetings, and they will be paid for their time, Michels added. 

Niagara Region has also been able to pay for some people to be trained and certified as a peer support worker, and they have gone on to work for different agencies in the region. 

There is always a new project in the works with the Lived Expert Advisory, Katzman said.  

The next one will be a Living Library, where lived experts will share the stories of their housing journeys, stories of hope and bumps along the road, and the videos will be shared in the community. 

“I can give back to my community with my experience, and that inevitably will help others that are going through what I’ve been through,” Katzman said. 

This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

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Three bright yellow sweaters weave through a block of woods in Lambton County. 

They arrive at a small clearing, with two large tents and a few belongings hanging in the trees. 

“Good morning! Outreach. Anybody home? We’ve got some snacks and drinks this morning,” shouts Dane Hansen, a community outreach worker with the homeless prevention and social planning department at the County of Lambton. 

This encampment, just a small one tucked away from the community, has been in the same location for quite a while, although residents have changed over time. Recently, it51�Թ��� been the same two people living in this spot, Hansen says.

“The people staying here now are part of the way through the process of doing a housing application to get them into Rent-Geared-to-Income housing … so they’ll always be able to pay the rent regardless of their financial situation. We’re just looking for those final pieces of the puzzle,” he said. 

The three-person community outreach team has ended homelessness for 117 people, helping them move directly into safe and affordable housing.  

That51�Թ��� a significant contribution to the county51�Թ��� homelessness response system, which typically supports more than 300 people at any given time. It51�Թ��� a number that has remained relatively constant as new people continue to fall into homelessness, even as others move into housing. 

“As we’ve seen more people pushed into homelessness and moving into encampments, the number of outreach teams has increased in communities across Canada. But with so much emergency need, it51�Թ��� easy to become disconnected from the ultimate goal — moving people into housing,” said Dawn Wheadon, the community51�Թ��� lead improvement advisor with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH). 

“Lambton County51�Թ��� outreach team is showing us what51�Թ��� possible when outreach teams go beyond basic care and relationship building, and make their first point of contact about housing,” Wheadon said. 

What housing-focused outreach looks like 

Lambton County’s community outreach team was created in the fall of 2022 in response to the growth in the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness, said Sarah Churchill, the County of Lambton’s homelessness prevention program supervisor. 

“For people who are presenting with more complex needs or unique needs that can’t really be met in an office setting, as well as those with a distrust of institutions … the team was made to be responsive to those needs,” Churchill said. 

In the field and at the office, the team51�Թ��� work is guided by meeting people where they are and removing barriers to housing.

“If you’re living outside, you probably have other priorities instead of getting all your documents in order. You’re just trying to survive day-to-day, and the system can be challenging at the best of times to deal with,” said Hansen. 

“It helps to have people like us in your corner.” 

That can mean securing IDs, filing taxes, opening a bank account, applying for income supports, and completing rent-geared-to-income affordable housing applications. 

‘Homelessness is carrying everything with you’ 

The peak of visible homelessness in Sarnia came during the summer of 2024, with an encampment of more than 50 tents set up in the downtown waterfront Rainbow Park. 

For months, the community outreach team visited the Rainbow Park encampment every day, connecting with people sleeping in the park and supporting them to find safe housing. 

That’s where they met Sarah Nickerson, living in a tent with her dog. 

Nickerson was raised in group homes through the provincial child welfare system. When she turned 18, Nickerson contacted her mother to be closer to her.  

“My mom and I butted heads because of certain things. We are a lot alike. She’s passed now. Rest in peace, mom,” said Nickerson.  

For the last 10 years, Nickerson experienced precarious housing, cycling between homelessness and living at her mom’s or a partner’s house.

“Homelessness is carrying everything with you, so you don’t get it stolen. Struggling to sleep. Struggling to stay warm. Pitching up somewhere, and then after so long, getting kicked out of there and having to find a new spot.”

“I had tried applying for places while homeless … but on Ontario Works, you only get $390 for rent [as a one-person household], and most places are $800 plus, so what can you really do?”  

During their visits to Rainbow Park, the community outreach team built a relationship with Nickerson, offering snacks, juice, and help to gather documents and apply for income support applications. 

After she experienced intimate partner violence during a relationship breakdown, the community outreach team was able to get her placed on the housing list. 

Shortly afterward, Nickerson was offered an apartment in the surrounding area. She remembers the exact moment she got the phone call.

“I screamed. I was so happy,” she said.   

Nickerson said it51�Թ��� given her the time and stability she needed to access resources and focus on processing and healing from childhood trauma and sexual violence.  

“Growing up in group homes and going through school, I was told I would never amount to anything, never be able to live independently. So having this home means a lot to me.” 

County coordinates outreach services across the region 

Back in the car, the community outreach team winds through the streets of Sarnia on their way to the office — stopping quickly on a downtown corner block to give snacks and juice to someone they know. 

“We call snacks and drinks the ‘tools of engagement,’ and that51�Թ��� mostly for relationship building, so people start to trust us to advocate for them to find housing,” said Hansen. 

At the office, the team walks straight into their weekly outreach coordination meeting — where outreach teams from four different organizations meet to ensure coverage across the entire county and identify barriers and opportunities to better support people experiencing homelessness.

The number of people living outdoors in tents and other makeshift shelters tends to decrease in the winter, but some temporary accommodations people move into also present challenges. 

Some people are pooling their insufficient social assistance cheques to pay living costs for temporary accommodations that are in unsuitable states of repair. 

In the meeting, teams share real-time updates, coordinate follow-ups, and divide tasks with a goal to help these people transition to safer options. 

‘They know me by name’ 

Back on the move, the community outreach team swings by the HART Hub — one of 28 provincially funded Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) programs that provide a range of services under one roof. 

Since the facility opened in late 2025, community outreach worker Vjollca Bramham says they’ve seen many new faces, people seeking support as more find themselves unable to afford rent, or in difficult housing situations. 

But today, a familiar face greets the team at the door. Jason* has been on the housing waitlist for years already, cycling in and out of homelessness, often staying on couches at the houses of friends or family. 

“I like that [the outreach team members] know me by name,” he said. 

Jason said he has borderline personality disorder, and the outreach team is helping him apply for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), which has a higher maximum shelter allowance than Ontario Works — up to $599 per month for a single person. 

Still, that often isn’t enough to afford rent, Jason said. 

“Things are slow right now. Not a lot of housing,” he added. 

‘Now I actually have time’ 

The lack of affordable housing kept Hailey trapped in homelessness in Sarnia for years, moving from one encampment to another. 

“Social assistance rates are not enough to pay market rent, so you’re stuck waiting to get into social housing,” Hailey said. 

And she wasn’t very hopeful about getting into community housing — the waitlist for a Rent-Geared-to-Income unit is more than four years. 

“I was still trying to look for places that were market rent just as an option, because I’d rather give up my whole cheque than live in a tent,” Hailey said, adding she tried several times to find an affordable place to split with friends by pooling their social assistance, but couldn’t find an option that worked. 

“It51�Թ��� hard to just go and get a job, especially if you didn’t finish high school … and especially when you’re homeless, because sometimes leaving your tent and everything for so many hours to go to school or work, it51�Թ��� just not doable because you’re going to come back and all your things are going to be gone.”

In February 2025, Hailey got the call there was a unit available, and she could take it if she wanted. By April, she had her own place to call home for the first time in three years. 

“Now I actually have time to try and make my life a little bit better,” she said. 

Since moving into her own home, Hailey says she has noticed her health improving, and she started looking into taking the Canadian Adult Education Credential (CAEC) to build her resume. 

And Hailey isn’t stopping there. She51�Թ��� knitting mittens to give out to people still sleeping outside in the cold, and has joined the county51�Թ��� ,  which is made up of people with lived experience of homelessness who meet monthly to share their expertise and help shape local homelessness programs and systems. 

“It could happen to anybody. Lots of people are one bill away from being out there with us,” she said.  

More affordable, supportive housing coming to Lambton 

The stigma facing people experiencing homelessness can make it even more difficult to secure an apartment. 

“As a single person, it51�Թ��� next to impossible to find an apartment to live in, unless we can get people into subsidized units,” Hansen says.  

“Sometimes, if a landlord hears that someone is on Ontario Works, they will just shut down. If they hear that you don’t have any housing history because you’re living in a tent, we won’t get a call back.” 

Lambton County51�Թ��� community outreach team is the first step in a coordinated system of support. Once there is an opportunity to move someone into housing, the County51�Թ��� broader social services division helps with that process. 

Even in a challenging market, people are moving into homes. New, affordable units are being built, and more supportive housing is coming to Lambton County. 

As that progresses, Lambton County51�Թ��� community outreach team will continue to help people experiencing homelessness organize their documents, apply for waiting lists, and find safe and affordable housing wherever they can. 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

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Dayna Clark was 14 years old when she left her parents’ home, trying to escape a traumatic childhood while struggling with her mental health and self-harming. 

Two years of precarious housing and homelessness followed. 

“I was homeless with a partner, who was also a youth, and we stayed together on the streets because we had nowhere to go where both of us could be safe, and that would accept us,” Clark said. 

Couch surfing with friends. Sleeping rough. Crashing on floors and staying in shelters. Clark says she did it all. 

“The experiences I had to go through were really, really hard. We didn’t have this program,” she said. “I ended up getting pregnant with my first son, and that51�Թ��� when I decided I was going to finish high school and I was going to change my life.” 

Clark leans on that lived experience in her work now as a transitional support worker with the Elizabeth Fry Society at Ethen51�Թ��� Place, a rapid rehousing program for youth aged 16 to 24 in Orillia, Ontario.

It51�Թ��� one of two rapid rehousing programs funded by the County of Simcoe that have already collectively helped 40 youth and seniors move from homelessness into safe and affordable housing since opening in 2024. 

The programs — Ethen’s Place with 14 rooms in Orillia, and Rodger51�Թ��� Way with 13 rooms in Collingwood for seniors 55 years and older  — are designed to help people with low- to moderate-acuity needs recover from their experiences of homelessness, connect to community resources and social assistance when needed, and find a permanent place to call home. 

The two facilities, previously utilized as mining base camps in northern Alberta, were purchased to support temporary residential programs, later determined to be rapid rehousing programs.  

“Every person has unique strengths and struggles, so a range of different housing and support options are needed to ensure that everyone can have a safe place to call home,” said Ashley Barnes-Cocke, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness’ lead Improvement Advisor for the County of Simcoe. 

“These two rapid rehousing programs — alongside the County51�Թ��� Bridge to Stability bridge housing project — are important, complementary initiatives that are reducing homelessness by building out that spectrum of options,” said Barnes-Cocke. 

Ethen51�Թ��� Place: ‘The first time I felt safe ever’ 

Clark says she knows of one youth who was sleeping for quite some time in a tunnel under a bridge, before a friend found out and asked his family to take him in for a couple of years. 

After some time at a shelter, that youth moved into Ethen51�Թ��� Place. 

“That51�Թ��� an example of a story where youths didn’t want anyone to know their circumstances and didn’t want to ask for help. If it wasn’t for a friend who said, ‘come stay with me and my family,’ who knows what could have happened,” said Clark. 

“I’ve had many kids come here and tell me, ‘this is the first time I felt safe ever.’” 

When Violet* moved into Ethen51�Թ��� Place, she had just spent the entire summer sleeping on the couch of a friend51�Թ��� family, after several turbulent years.

After her parents separated, Violet says she and her mother often got into disagreements and her mother would threaten to kick her out of the house. 

One time, Violet said her mother dropped her off at an emergency shelter in downtown Barrie, saying she couldn’t stay at home any longer. 

“I was texting my mom begging and saying I was sorry. And then close to 2 a.m., she was finally like, ‘okay, I’ll give you some grace. You can come sleep in the garage,’” recalled Violet, as tears rolled down her face. 

She ended up sleeping in her room that night. The next morning, Violet packed some of her things and went to high school. Instead of going home after, she started crashing at friends’ houses for as long as they’d let her stay. 

Violet was on the County of Simcoe51�Թ��� By-Name Data list as a youth experiencing homelessness and was later connected through Coordinated Access to Ethen51�Թ��� Place.  

A housing benefit is essential to making rent affordable 

It took some time to settle into the program, but Violet says she eventually started setting goals, and working toward achieving them. She was connected to a therapist, who helped her to stop self-harming and to work through her anxiety and build self-confidence. 

Within six months, Violet was offered a spot in Elizabeth Fry Society51�Թ��� Oxford Street location, a three-bedroom house where youth can live for up to one year, receiving some support from an intensive case manager while looking for a more permanent private market rental. 

Violet received some work training, and with the help of a case worker, was able to get a part-time job. Then it was time to start looking for her own place. 

“I just didn’t know what to look for. Everything’s so expensive that I’m not going to be able to afford rent. I have pretty good pay for where I’m working as a first-time job, but with how much everything costs, it’s not enough,” she said. 

The case worker came in clutch again, helping Violet find a place she could afford with the help of the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit — a monthly rental benefit jointly funded by the provincial and federal government to assist people with lower incomes, in more vulnerable conditions, afford to pay rent in the private market. 

Now, Violet says she feels safe and secure in her own home, for the first time in years. 

While average market rental rates are starting to decline in many cities across the country, the price of market rent is still too high for many people with low-income or relying on social assistance, said Maggie Rodrigues, CAEH51�Թ��� Government Relations Lead. 

“Violet51�Թ��� story demonstrates the power of a portable housing benefit. Expanding access would help end homelessness for more Canadians by supporting them to access the rental market,” Rodrigues said. 

Rodger51�Թ��� Way: Rapidly rehousing seniors in Simcoe 

More than 60 years older than Violet, Pierre found himself in a similar situation, dropped off outside a shelter in downtown Barrie. 

It51�Թ��� a situation he51�Թ��� still struggling to understand, after having several successful careers over the course of his lifetime, as a restauranteur, an international trade representative promoting Canadian businesses in Europe, and later a car dealership owner and executive director of a non-profit. 

He retired to support his wife when she was diagnosed with cancer, and shortly after she died, Pierre himself was diagnosed with kidney cancer and had to have emergency surgery. 

A few years later, Pierre had a second surgery for colon cancer, but experienced significant complications leading to multiple comas and a four-month stay at the hospital. When he was finally healthy enough to be discharged, he learned that his savings account had been drained, and he had been evicted. 

“Lost my car. Lost my rent. Lost my family. Lost everything. I was in the streets with just a little plastic bag with two shirts and two shorts,” said Pierre. 

“I was ready to die. Where was I going to go? What will happen with me? And all my life, I was like a winner, and suddenly … people don’t know how stressful it is to be homeless.” 

Eventually, Pierre was connected to a place at Rodger51�Թ��� Way Home in Collingwood through the County of Simcoe in late 2025. The County51�Թ��� By-Name Data meant that county staff knew who Pierre was and what kind of supports he needed to help him exit homelessness, and Coordinated Access allowed the county staff to match Pierre to Rodger51�Թ��� Way as soon as a room opened up for him. 

“My health is better here than there. Mentally, I feel better too,” he said. 

The staff with Contact Community Services, the agency operating the program, are helping Pierre heal from his experiences, and look for an affordable place to live that can meet his accessibility and mobility needs. 

Lacey De Beer, the supportive rapid rehousing program supervisor, says seniors experiencing homelessness from across Simcoe County come to the program from living in shelters, vehicles, encampments and the streets.

“We’re kind of trying to rebuild them and give them a strong foundation so when they leave here they feel confident that they’ll be able to live independently and be successful. We want them to feel that confidence in their bones,” De Beer said. 

Residents pay rent, set at 30 per cent of their income, and have their own rooms, with access to the kitchen, and 24 hours of support to set and achieve their objectives and find their own permanent home. 

The program staff also provide at least six months of support after a resident has moved into their own place. 

So far, it seems to be working, De Beer said. All 17 of the former residents who have moved into a new home are still housed now. 

Pierre says he has a few places that he51�Թ��� going to look at soon, to see if they could be a good fit for him to move into. 

“I would like to continue my life as it was before … thanks to [the program staff], I’m still a happy man, and I still believe that tomorrow will be good,” said Pierre. 

*This Bright Spot is funded by the Government of Canada.

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