Ending Homelessness
Approach
The efforts of the 7 Cities have delivered significant results with the support of the Government of Alberta, the Government of Canada, local government, service providers and the private sector.
As early adopters of the Housing First model and the first Canadian communities to develop and implement Plans to End Homelessness, the 7 Cities have collectively housed and supported 23,000 previously homeless Albertans from 2008 to 2018. These approaches are grounded in community-level system planning and implementation, supported by government.
Integral to this success has been consistent provincial support – not only financially, but also in terms of policy support and championship of the effort from the executive level outward.
A key hallmark of the support has been Alberta’s 10-year plan to end homelessness, which has provided government-wide policy direction while enabling community-based leadership on specific Housing First initiatives.
Link to A Plan for Alberta: Ending Homelessness in 10 Years
http://humanservices.alberta.ca/documents/PlanForAB_Secretariat_final.pdf
Impact
Over the past 10 years, significant progress has been made toward ending homelessness in Alberta. Thanks to hard work and dedication at the provincial and community levels, the Housing First approach has realized real results, notably:
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Approximately 23,000 homeless Albertans who were experiencing homelessness have been housed with varying degrees of support to match their needs
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With a cumulative retention rate of 69%, Housing First programs have helped ensure almost 7 out of every 10 assisted Albertans have remained housed
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An estimated $2.4 billion has been saved in provincial expenditures, through reduced rates of non-optimal use of public services (such as emergency rooms, acute care, police resources and the justice system)
Collectively, Housing First clients served across the 7 Cities have experienced significant reductions in public system usage (2008-2018):