Backgrounder: Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream

Innovative Solutions to Homelessness funding stream

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.

Homelessness Partnering Strategy 

The Homelessness Partnering Strategy 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.

Through the Homelessness Partnering Strategy, qualified organizations and other eligible recipients 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

• Rural and Remote Homelessness (non-designated communities)

• Aboriginal Homelessness

National projects

The national funding streams help 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. The three national streams are: 

• National Homelessness Information System

• Surplus Federal Real Property Initiative

• Innovative Solutions to Homelessness