KAWARTHA LAKES-MPP Laurie Scott announced today that the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County will receive an additional $166,207.64 for a total of $2,231,400 to help community members through the Consolidated Municipal Service Manager program.
The new program will simplify and streamline operations so municipal service managers can spend less time on paperwork and more time working with their clients to help find housing and other supports and help those at-risk of homelessness stay in their homes.
“This additional investment and streamlined program will help more community members break the cycle of home insecurity by getting them connected to the services and supports they need faster and with fewer barriers,” said Laurie Scott, MPP for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.
The Homelessness Prevention Program launching on April 1, 2022, combines three programs: Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative, Home for Good, and the Strong Communities Rent Supplement Program. It will give service managers more flexibility to target funding where it is needed the most and allow for greater financial accountability by measuring service managers’ progress in reducing and preventing homelessness in their communities.
“This streamlining of various programs, along with this additional funding, will assist our community to have the flexibility needed to help address the housing needs that our residents face,” said Michelle Corley, Human Services Manager, Housing for the City of Kawartha Lakes.
Access to this funding will be based on having in place a By-Name List that meets the provincial requirements and contains detailed, up-to-date information from individuals experiencing homelessness to help connect them to local supports.
“Our government inherited a homelessness prevention system administered through several different government programs that was underfunded, fragmented and overly complex,” said Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing. “With Ontario’s new Homelessness Prevention Program, we are simplifying the delivery of services and increasing funding so our municipal partners can spend more time focusing on providing vulnerable Ontarians with the supports they need to stay in their homes or get the housing they need.”
