KAWARTHA LAKES-The Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness has announced that the City of Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton have marked a 51% reduction in chronic homelessness since August 2018.
“The commitment and work around supporting the most vulnerable in our community is providing an opportunity to ensure that our resources are being used effectively to make a difference in the lives of those who would have otherwise fallen through the cracks of the system,” says Michelle Corley of the Housing Help Division of the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Currently, Kawartha Lakes-Haliburton are one of the two communities “in the last mile” and are being recognized at the Built for Zero Press Conference in Toronto for showing that they are projected to reach “functional zero” on chronic homelessness within the next 12 months or less. “Functional zero” means that the City and County will have three or less people experiencing chronic homelessness over three consecutive months. Chronic homelessness is when an individual has been experiencing homelessness for six months within the last year.
Since 2016, the City of Kawartha Lakes and the County of Haliburton have been involved with the 20,000 Homes Campaign, a program that works to house Canada’s most vulnerable homeless people. The program included initiatives such as Registry Week, which identified people experiencing chronic homelessness throughout Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton in an effort to recognize and learn about their needs. In the City’s 2018 Registry Week Final Report, 60 individuals and 15 families were identified as homeless. The Homeless Coordinated Entry System work has continued, where individuals or families experiencing homelessness are added to a by-name-list that prioritizes the most vulnerable and matches them to appropriate housing and supports.
An estimated 235,000 people experience homelessness every year in Canada. People experiencing chronic homelessness are deeply impoverished and typically suffer from a range of complex medical, mental health, addiction and trauma-related challenges.
Today the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness launches a new national effort to end chronic homelessness after its 20,000 Homes Campaign successfully housed 21,254 of Canada’s most vulnerable homeless people. They are now called Built for Zero Canada. There are 38 communities participating in Built for Zero Canada (BFZ-C).
Built for Zero Canada is a national change effort helping a core group of leading communities end chronic homelessness – a first step on the path to eliminating all homelessness in Canada.
“The resources and expertise we have available at our fingertips from the Built for Zero Canada campaign (formerly 20,000 Homes) have been great. But also the peer support, the knowledge and experience sharing from other communities has been and continues to be a huge support for us,” adds Corley.
Along with the County of Haliburton, the City of Kawartha Lakes has set a goal locally to end chronic homelessness by 2020.
To read more about the Built for Zero Campaign and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, visit their website.
The 20,000 Homes Campaign houses 21, 254 of Canada’s most vulnerable homeless people.
