Backgrounder - Government of Canada announces close to $3 million to support participation of designated communities to participate in Everyone Counts: the 2018 Coordinated Point-in-Time Count of Homelessness in Canadian Communities

Point-in-Time Count

A Point-inTime (PiT) count is a method used to measure sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. It aims to enumerate individuals in a community who are, at a given time, staying in shelters or “sleeping rough” (e.g., on the street, in parks), providing a “snapshot” of homelessness in a community. PiT counts include a survey that can provide communities with information on the characteristics of their homeless population (e.g., age, gender, veteran status, Indigenous identity).

This information can be used by communities to direct resources to areas of greatest need, and to connect individuals with specific backgrounds to targeted supports to help them achieve stable housing. When completed in subsequent years, it can also be used to track changes in the homeless population over time and measure progress in reducing it.

The coordinated PiT count of homelessness uses a common methodology and is coordinated with communities across Canada through the Government of Canada’s Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS).

In Quebec, the HPS is administered through a formal agreement that respects the jurisdiction and priorities of both governments in addressing homelessness. Discussions with Quebec are ongoing with respect to the 2018 Coordinated PiT Count.

Registry Week

In 2015, the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) launched the 20,000 Homes Campaign to house 20,000 people experiencing homelessness by July 1, 2018. Communities that participate create a registry, or By-Name List, of people experiencing homelessness and determine the severity of their needs in order to prioritize people for housing interventions.

The creation of this list typically begins with a Registry Week, when surveys are conducted with people experiencing homelessness to begin to evaluate the severity of their needs.

Data collected from a Registry Week will allow communities to target supports and services that meet the needs of the individual, but also the community.

Since its introduction, 37 communities have participated in the Registry Week.   

Homelessness Partnering Strategy

The HPS is a unique community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness by providing direct support and funding to 61 designated communities in all provinces and territories, as well as to Aboriginal, rural and remote communities across Canada, to help them address homelessness.

Funding for Homelessness projects

Through the HPS, qualified organizations may receive funding for projects to help prevent and reduce homelessness in Canada. These projects are funded through regional and/or national funding streams.

Regional projects

Funding delivered regionally focuses on the needs of homeless and at-risk individuals at the local level, and aims to help individuals gain and maintain a stable living arrangement. The three regional streams are:

• Designated Communities:
  • 61 communities across Canada that have a significant problem with homelessness have been selected to receive ongoing support to address this issue. These communities—mostly urban centres—are given funding that must be matched with contributions from other sources. Funded homelessness projects must support priorities identified through a community planning process 
• Rural and Remote Homelessness (non-designated communities):
  • The Rural and Remote Homelessness funding stream targets smaller, non-designated communities located in rural and outlying areas. This funding is not available to the 61 designated communities.
• Aboriginal Homelessness:
  • The Aboriginal Homelessness funding stream addresses the specific needs of the off-reserve homeless Aboriginal population by supporting an integrated service delivery system that is culturally appropriate and community-driven.
  • The HPS partners with Aboriginal groups to ensure that services meet the unique needs of off-reserve homeless Aboriginal people in cities and rural areas. The unique needs of all First Nations, Inuit, Métis, and non-status Indians peoples are also considered.
  • Off-reserve Aboriginal people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness are also served under the Designated Communities and Rural and Remote Homelessness funding streams.

National projects

The national funding streams help to develop a better understanding of homelessness based on local data collection, and make surplus federal real properties available to organizations that plan to use the facilities to address homelessness. 

• Innovative Solutions to Homelessness:

  • The Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream is delivered nationally and supports the development of the best innovative approaches to reducing homelessness. Funding can be used to support activities in three key areas: supporting community-based innovative projects to reduce homelessness and/or the cost of homelessness; building strategic partnerships with key stakeholders; and testing and/or sharing tools, social metrics, and research findings geared towards homelessness.

• National Homelessness Information System:

  • The National Homelessness Information System is a federal data development initiative designed to collect and analyze baseline data related primarily to the use of emergency shelters in Canada.

  • This funding stream supports the implementation and deployment of the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) software, HIFIS training at the community level, and projects related to community shelter data coordination.

     

  • Data collected through HIFIS and other sources, such as provincial or municipal governments, feed into the National Homelessness Information System to help develop a national portrait of homelessness.

• Surplus Federal Real Property Initiative:
  • The Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative is a funding stream of the HPS. It makes surplus federal real properties available to eligible recipients for projects to help prevent and reduce homelessness.