Elisabeth Hazell, CFRE’s Post

The current cost-of-living crisis combined with skyrocketing housing is driving a wave of new homelessness in Canada. For people at risk of losing their homes, supports are needed to help them keep their housing and to stop them from becoming homeless. A Homelessness Prevention and Housing Benefit would do just that. If introduced in Budget 2024 and rapidly implemented, this could slow or stop growing homelessness until we’ve fixed the housing crisis and restored affordability for all. Let's Build a Better Housing Budget 🏠 Take action: https://loom.ly/mKZUq-o

Reaching Home, Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, was introduced in 2018. It provides essential and lifesaving funding to help cities across the country respond to homelessness. Funding for this critical program is being reduced by the federal government. We need an immediate renewal of this funding for communities to continue their work to build coordinated systems that get people into housing. Let's Build a Better Housing Budget 🏠 Take action: https://loom.ly/HmUfZsY

Encampments are growing across the country as people experiencing homelessness have nowhere else safe and appropriate to go. Budget 2024 should include a federally funded Encampment Response Program that supports people experiencing homelessness and living in encampments to quickly move into appropriate, safe, and secure housing. A federally funded response program would support communities to implement locally informed encampment resolution approaches that put housing and people at the centre of each response. Let's Build a Better Housing Budget 🏠 Take action: https://loom.ly/HmUfZsY

A Homelessness Reduction Accelerator Fund would provide small grants to support communities to clear obstacles that are getting in the way of their critical efforts to end homelessness. This fund would also assist build locally-driven and better-coordinated response systems, prevent homelessness, and accelerate reductions of the number of people experiencing homelessness. As Budget 2024 seeks to deliver good jobs for Canadians, address rising affordability challenges, and set the next generation up for success, bold housing policy must be a part of the solution. Let's Build a Better Housing Budget 🏠 Take action:https://loom.ly/HmUfZsY

🛑Australians at risk of homelessness increased 63% between 2016 and 2022. 🛑Now, between 2.7 and 3.2 million Australians are at risk of homelessness. St Patrick's Community Support Centre is supporting Homelessness Australia's NO ONE TURNED AWAY campaign calling on Australian Governments to provide the funding required to: * Provide the support people need to avoid or quickly escape homelessness. * Provide rapid access to safe affordable homes. * Increase income support so people can afford their rent. NEW RESEARCH released on Monday reveals homelessness demand is so high services are having to close their doors or stop answering the phone, so they can provide desperately needed help: 🛑83% of providers were unable to answer calls at times. 🛑74% couldn't respond to emails. 🛑40% had to close their front doors at least once. 🤲🏼JOIN THE CAMPAIGN here: https://lnkd.in/gS7RV8iD Check out this feature story on The Project: https://lnkd.in/gwWwqHaE

“We face a real crisis of #homelessness and housing need in this country. We are seeing records levels of homelessness, and many more people and families are living on the brink of homelessness due to the on-going cost-of-living crisis. It was good therefore to see the Chancellor today recognise this crisis, by pledging £230 million for councils to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping, as well as acknowledging the need for more social housing with a commitment to an additional £500m towards providing this. We also welcome choices to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. However, it was very disappointing to no mention of the Local Housing Allowance rate. The Chancellor must unfreeze LHA and re-link it to actual rents charged to tenants, to prevent homelessness and help homeless people be rehoused. There was also a failure to mention the over £1bn of funding for vital homelessness services that is due to come to an end in March. There is still no certainty yet what will happen. It is vital that Ministers can confirm as soon as possible that this will continue, because without clear and stable funding, homelessness services will not be able to recruit and retain the skilled staff they need. This will lead to thousands of people being left without support to prevent or resolve their homelessness.” Read our CEO, Duncan Shrubsole's full response here: https://loom.ly/SLOjSHY

I'm a strong believer in the value of shelter and transitional housing for folks and the role these services can play to support people as they start their journey along the housing continuum and further as they attempt to navigate a system that is in crisis and burdened with barriers. Historically, there has been a de-emphasis in funding for these types of initiatives, which has led to many services being trapped in cycles of under resourcing and pure survival and even more services that have been lost. Post that, we saw shelter and transitional housing underplayed and hidden as a dissuasion in Reaching Home dollars. But this funding announcement is a positive direction to securing the resources needed for shelter and transitional housing to allow these services and organizations to play a more robust and consistent role in helping the community solve the issue of homelessness and further properly show up for individuals in the ways they truly need us to. Further hoping the provincial government shifts its attitude and seizes this opportunity more robustly and remains open to understanding that the solution is beyond individuals, beyond just a job, and beyond just semi-affordable housing for the missing middle.

📈 RECORD HOMELESSNESS STATS 📈 Today’s official government stats show a 15% increase in the number of children living in temporary accommodation; on New Year’s Eve 2023 112,660 households were homeless living in temporary accommodation, including 145,800 children. Both record highs. The stats also showed that 317,430 households in England faced homelessness in 2023*. Another shameful new record. It’s clear England is experiencing a housing emergency. Children are growing up in temporary accommodation, and people are being pushed into homelessness by insecure and overpriced housing every single day. We know the long-term solutions; investing in social homes and fixing renting. We also know social homes will pay for themselves. It’s time for all political parties to prove they are serious about acting to end homelessness and, ahead of the next general election, commit to taking real action >> https://shltr.org.uk/ZfpZM * New government statutory homelessness figures released today, show the number of households facing homeless in 2023 of 317,430 is the highest annual total since records began in 2018. It is 9% higher than in 2022 (292,390). This was calculated by combining the households found to be owed a prevention or relief duty. Tables on homelessness - https://gov.uk/

An important narrative by my colleague Stephen Bartolo, eMBA, CEC that reflects the thought leadership from us at Shepherds of Good Hope. Our donors and partners create solutions as we aspire to end homelessness through supportive housing as it not only provides hope and dignity to achieve a better quality of life, but it delivers cost savings. A 2014 study by the Mental Health Commission of Canada found that for every dollar invested in supportive housing, governments save $1.54 on emergency services, hospital stays and other social services. A more recent study reaffirmed that focusing on housing makes simple sense. Why ? - a month in the hospital is $30,000. - a month in the prison system is $12,000. - a month in the shelter system is $6,000. - a month in supportive housing ? It is only $4,000. This is saving us tax dollars. We believe that supportive housing is the long-term solution and our collective commitment enables us all to address the core root of homelessness. https://lnkd.in/gTeQRRwb