Home for Good Mayor Bonnie Crombie April 9, 2018 My name is Bonnie Crombie and I am the Mayor of the great City of Mississauga. Thank you for being with us today and for allowing me the opportunity to speak to a program in our community that I think has real potential to address the mental health and housing needs of some of our most vulnerable residents. Mayor Bonnie Crombie April 9, 2018

By way of background, the City of Mississauga is part of The Region of Peel, which also includes Brampton, and the Town of Caledon. The Region is the housing service provider and is tasked with operating and maintaining our existing housing stock, tackling homelessness, and operating our shelter system. We’re home to 1.3 million people and like every municipality, we face issues of homelessness. In 2017, over 14,000 people used a shelter in Peel and 593 youth used our emergency beds. There are many vulnerable people living in our community and many experience issues of homelessness. While it may not be as visible in Peel as it is in downtown Toronto, homelessness still exists in Peel Region and Mississauga.

The spectrum ranges from chronic to intermittent homelessness. Quite often homelessness is tied to a host of other issues like poor medical care, mental health issues, substance abuse, and stress. We know that the first step to addressing all of these issues is proper, safe, and affordable permanent housing. If a person cannot feel safe and secure in proper shelter, they certainly cannot address the other challenges they face. As a housing service provider, our challenge has been to find shelter for those who are homeless or are on the verge of becoming homeless . We also struggle to provide the other services they require, such as proper health care, counselling, mental health services, and much more.

We have also found that many people experience homelessness when transitioning between health care and correctional institutions. They are either not eligible for certain programs, or have nowhere to go. As a result, they end up falling through the cracks and end up on our streets.

Municipal and regional levels of government are on the front lines of homelessness and are most often responsible for providing support when residents are at their most vulnerable and experiencing a housing or mental health crisis. We all know that when all levels of government work together, we do a better job ensuring that people in need don’t fall through the cracks.

That’s why in 2017 we applied to the Ontario Ministry of Housing for funding under the new “Home for Good” program The goal of the program is to address: Chronic homelessness Youth homelessness Indigenous homelessness Homelessness following transition from institutions such as hospitals and prisons

In Peel, our goal was to develop a “Housing First” model Housing First is an approach that offers permanent, affordable housing as quickly as possible for individuals and families experiencing homelessness first, and then provides supportive services and connections to community based supports that are needed to maintain housing and avoid returning to homelessness By using a collaborative approach, we are better able to utilize the expertise of each of the relevant partners to provide wrap-around services to a difficult to serve client group We are targeting priority individuals, which include: Adults with mental illness and co-occurring addictions; families with children, and youth

Homes for Good in Peel assists with: Improved access to choice based on permanent housing supports Increased housing stability Improved access to coordinated supports and services based on needs

Increased sense of social and community integration

Improvement to an individual’s overall quality of life (physical, mental, and emotional)

It is a unique partnership between the Region of Peel, John Howard Society of Peel-Halton-Dufferin, Peel Alliance to End Homelessness, and Services and Housing in the Province (SHIP). All organizations work with the same at risk individuals, so we combined our proposals into a collaborative project that builds on the strengths of each organization. The Region of Peel has two small Housing First programs, but they are missing key elements like mental health, substance abuse, and health care supports. The organizations we brought on board are able to assist with these. Bringing organizations together allows us to better address the complex needs of the population that is at risk of becoming homeless.

The project team consists of: 3 housing support workers 11 intensive case managers 2 employment service workers 1 rent supplement worker 1 substance abuse counsellor 1 mental health counsellor

Our goal is to assist 166 individuals deemed “priority” by Home for Good in Peel Region

Since January 2018, we have housed 15 people using this program Overall, it is addressing the root causes of homelessness - mental illness, substance abuse, affordability – and ensuring that priority individuals are reached before they become homeless It’s been a true collaboration and we have high hopes for the success of this program So far, it’s a testament to what can be achieved when governments and community partners work together to address a challenge like homelessness.

Questions? Questions?