Canada’s failing grade on homelessness

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On a single night in late 2024, an estimated 67,000 Canadians experienced homelessness in 87 communities. This staggering number is from the fourth federal point in time count. What is alarming is this record result occurred during a period of unprecedented spending from the $115-billion National Housing Strategy that launched in 2017.

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Opinion

On a single night in late 2024, an estimated 67,000 Canadians experienced homelessness in 87 communities. This staggering number is from the fourth federal point in time count. What is alarming is this record result occurred during a period of unprecedented spending from the $115-billion National Housing Strategy that launched in 2017.

How did this happen and how do we move 67,000 Canadians into housing and out of encampments, shelters and deplorable situations? Also, what does this mean for Winnipeg, which nearly doubled in the number of people experiencing homelessness to a record 2,469 people?

The national Everyone Counts 2024 report was released quietly in July. This damning report calls into question our current approach in addressing the needs of persons at risk or who are currently unsheltered. That the strategy has allocated nearly $66 billion, yet the number of Canadians struggling with housing issues accelerates, is reason enough to be very concerned.

We also seem to have fewer answers as to why the numbers are rising at such a rapid rate despite record spending. For example, if we look at the count from 2022 for comparison, it enumerated 40,000 persons in 72 communities while Winnipeg nearly doubled from 1,256 to the current 2,469.

To understand how we came to count a record number of Canadians experiencing homelessness is not necessarily complicated. It began decades ago when Canada forgot it had a responsibility to house those most in need. Many point to the 1990s withdrawal of the federal government from building social housing as putting Canada on the wrong path.

Sadly, I have spent the past 25 years trying to understand how Canadians find housing that is adequate, affordable and meets household needs. In 1999, I was part of early consultations convened by the federal government that was responding to the growing situation in Toronto and Vancouver that had seen a collapse of the social safety net. This led to the first tranche of investment in addressing homelessness with some modest successes. The type of investments made by the federal government over the past 25 years ebbed and flowed but hit a generational peak with the housing strategy.

We have learned much about the pathways into homelessness, yet, surprisingly, less about how to address the current housing market calamity. For example, we know clearly that the sooner we support someone into stable housing (with supports), the greater their success over the long term.

We also know that housing and neighbourhood quality are fundamental to housing stability. In fact, Winnipeg has been tremendously successful in supporting neighbourhood-based organizations doing important work in communities for decades.

But as momentum was being built of the last two decades, we capitulated. This included selling off non-profit housing in Winnipeg and shuttering programs such as Neighbourhoods Alive in 2016. These are only two examples, but they delivered a decisive blow.

As we grapple with a record number of Canadians and Manitobans struggling, is there a way to reverse this alarming trend? Here are a few simple points to consider.

First, the remaining $60 billion from the housing strategy must be better allocated to target the 67,000 Canadians in dire need. The strategy provides a financial foundation, but the clock is ticking faster than ever before. It’s time to call this is a national emergency and act accordingly.

Second, the provincial government has a critical responsibility to lead. They must continue with its focused strategy on homelessness and add even more resources while working harder with other levels of government and local organizations.

Third, building more purposeful and affordable housing must continue and accelerate. The Winnipeg capital region is fast approaching a million people, with need only growing. Thus, we must continue to leverage housing strategy dollars while building as much housing as possible. This is all hands-on deck.

Fourth, ensuing we fund organizations that offer critical services and supports that assist those currently struggling or are at risk of homelessness such as mental health, addictions and poverty to name a few. We will never end homelessness without a comprehensive approach that recognizes the complexity of need.

Fifth, we must draw on our collective will to want to help, to show compassion and caring. Around the world, too many governments are shifting approaches to an emphasis on a heavy hand. We are seeing far too many think that being poor or homeless is a punishable crime. It’s time to truly care and commit.

It has been 25 years since Canada began to recognize its duty to end chronic homelessness ,and while there have been gains, the results of the latest count are troubling.

We must believe there is a way home, even if it seems impossible.

Jino Distasio is a professor of urban geography at the University of Winnipeg.

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