Niagara Receives Funding for Supportive Housing, Brno Wins FEANTSA’s Ending Homelessness Award, and More

The provincial government has provided over 5 million dollars in funding towards housing for at least 63 people experiencing homelessness in Niagara, Canada. St. Catherines Standard reports that through the Ministry of Housing’s Home for Good program, about 63 housing units are expected to be built. The program is placing emphasis on creating housing accompanied by supportive services for those who are experiencing homelessness and need assistance. Community Services Commissioner Adrienne Jugley adds that Niagara will reach out to community agencies for partnership in providing support services. The article includes references to research indicating that supportive housing is more cost effective than temporary fixes to street homelessness.

Read the article here.

In response to policymakers and service providers’ concerns about how housing first initiatives would suit young people, the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness (COH) collaborated to provide a framework adapted for this population – Housing First for Youth (HF4Y). The ongoing development and implementation of HF4Y led to the need for a more comprehensive program model guide; thus COH and A Way Home Canada partnered to develop This is Housing First for Youth: A Program Model Guide. They developed the guide with the help of consultation with organizations from several countries, such as the National Learning Community on Youth Homelessness, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, FEANTSA Youth, and experts like Dr. Sam Tsemberis – whom many consider the founder of the Housing First model. The enhanced program model guide features revised and refined core principles; discussion of HF4Y as a program versus a philosophy and of models of accommodation and support; and an outline of the proper groundwork for the program.

Read the guide here.

Brno, a city in Czech Republic, won FEANTSA’s Ending Homelessness Award for 2017-2018. The city’s project examined whether family homelessness could be solved through the housing first approach, and designed an action plan to address it. Fifty homeless families were housed in a municipal flat and provided with intensive housing first case management through award winning local pro-Roma non-governmental organization IQ Roma Servis. The initiative has seen positive results thus far, with all 50 families sustaining housing. If these results persist, other municipalities are expected to adopt the strategy. Vit Lesak, director of the Platform for Social Housing, advocates for a system of social housing in the Czech Republic together with 65+ NGOs and experts from the field, and was part of IGH’s 2016 leadership program. Congratulations Brno!

Read more about the project here.

“It’s a private-sector solution that doesn’t require taxes or land to be purchased,” architect and co-founder of Seattle’s Block Project, Rex Hohlbein, said. The pilot project uses the backyards of participating homeowners to build small housing units for people experiencing homelessness. Jenny Cunningham of The Guardian states that finding property owners willing to host someone experiencing homelessness has been one of the easiest tasks for the project’s team. Hohlbein is hopeful that the project will see positive results and lead to expansion. The reporting is part of The Guardian’s Outside in America series.

Read the article here.