Increasingly in North America, policy-makers and decision-makers are using the Housing First model – an approach that focuses on new means of rapid and sustained re-housing of the homeless in order to combat homelessness.  In spite of its development, which began in 1992 in New York City, little has been written on its adaptation and transferability to Canadian municipalities.

CPRN Housing Intern Nick Falvo, of Carleton University, looks at Housing First in his paper Homelessness, Program Responses, and an Assessment of Toronto’s Streets to Homes Program and its potential value to Canadian communities.  The report discusses its evolution in the United States.  Falvo then documents, analyzes and interprets Canada’s version of Housing First, Toronto’s Streets to Homes (S2H) program, based on primary and secondary research including key informant interviews. For information on SHSC, go to www.shscorp.ca/.

Release Date: 29 Jan 2009
Number of pages: 49
Document number: 50981

Themes:

Cities and Communities
Social Protection

Related Publications:

E-network: Adapting the Housing First Model in Canada
Other: Social Housing in Canada
Research Report: A Safer Haven: Innovations for Improving Social Housing in Canada
Research Report: Can Inclusionary Zoning Help Address the Shortage of Affordable Housing in Toronto?
Research Report: City-Regions and the Provision of Affordable Rental Housing
Research Report: Fostering Better Integration and Partnerships for Housing in Canada: Lessons for Creating a Stronger Policy Model of Governmental and Community Collaboration
Research Report: Housing for Immigrants in Ontario's Medium-Sized Cities
Research Report: Inclusion and Social Housing Practice in Canadian Cities: Following the Path from Good Intentions to Sustainable Projects
Research Report: Linking Social Housing and Energy Efficiency
Research Report: Moving Towards Sustainability: City-Regions and Their Infrastructure
Research Report: Overcoming Challenges in Centralized and Decentralized Housing Models: Ontario and British Columbia Compared
Research Report: Recession and Stimulus Spending: A Preliminary Examination of Stimulus Spending on Affordable Housing in Ontario
Research Report: Rehousing Vancouver's Street-Involved Youth
Research Report: Social Housing Wait Lists and the One-Person Household in Ontario
Research Report: Social Lives in Social Housing: Resident Connections to Social Services
Research Report: Sustaining Ontario's Subsidized Housing by Supporting Non-Profit Organizations
Research Report: The Homeownership Component of the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program: Critical Analysis of Program Objectives
Research Report: The Role of Public-Private Partnerships in Funding Social Housing in Canada
Research Report: The Role of Supportive Housing for Low-Income Seniors in Ontario
Research Report: Towards Food Security Policy for Canada's Social Housing Sector
Research Report: Under Pressure: Affordable Housing in Rural Ontario