February 1, 2019 Gatineau, Quebec Employment and Social Development Canada
Homelessness has an economic and social impact on every community in Canada. The Government of Canada is committed to helping those who are in need and believes that one homeless Canadian is one too many.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, launched a call for concepts to expand the Designated Communities stream of Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy.
On April 1, 2019, Reaching Home will replace the existing Homelessness Partnering Strategy, which
is a community-based program aimed at preventing and reducing homelessness. Currently, the Government of Canada provides long term stable funding to 61 Designated Communities across Canada to support local solutions to homelessness. Under the redesigned strategy, the Designated Communities Stream will be expanded to new communities.
The first step for this process is a competitive call for concepts. Communities outside of Quebec and the territories with a population size of 25,000 and over who demonstrate a need for long-term stable federal homelessness funding are encouraged to apply. Through this rigorous process, successful communities will be invited in the spring 2019 to develop and submit a full project proposal. The potential to increase the number of Designated Communities in Quebec will be explored as part of the negotiations of the sixth Canada-Quebec agreement.
An application process has been outlined to assist eligible communities to complete their submissions. Completed submissions with attachments can be sent to [email protected] or mailed. The deadline for applications is March 8, 2019, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
"Homelessness is a shared responsibility by every community across Canada. The redesigned Reaching Home strategy is a testament that by working together we can all reach the ambitious goal of reducing homelessness by 50%. Expanding the Designated Community stream is only one of many steps and investments that should enable communities the capacity to develop long-term sustainable solutions to reducing homelessness."
—The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
"As the Chair of the Advisory Committee on Homelessness, I am proud to see that our recommendation to expand the Designated Communities funding stream has been implemented. This is one of many important building blocks that should enable communities to reduce and prevent homelessness."
—Adam Vaughan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick facts
As part of the National Housing Strategy, the Government of Canada announced a total investment of $2.2 billion for homelessness over 10 years to expand and extend funding for federal homelessness programming. By 2021–22, this will double annual investments compared to 2015–16.
Reaching Home will replace the existing Homelessness Partnering Strategy and will officially launch April 1, 2019.
Under Reaching Home, the Designated Communities will be expanded to up to six new communities outside of Quebec and the territories. Eligible communities are encouraged to submit one concept per community that demonstrates a need for homelessness funding.
