In 1999 the Government of Canada announced the National Homelessness Initiative, a three-year initiative designed to help ensure community access to programs, services and support for alleviating homelessness in communities located in all provinces and territories.

The Government of Canada has renewed the National Homelessness Initiative for an additional three years with an investment of $405 million. Under this initiative communities will be provided with the supports to further implement measures that assist homeless individuals and families in achieving and maintaining self-sufficiency.

Becoming Aware

In 1999, homelessness was becoming a crisis in large and small cities across Canada. The issue was complex; both the people and the factors that led them to becoming homeless were varied and diverse. It was apparent that homelessness could not be solved by any one level of government or sector and that the key to fully addressing the issue was dependent upon governments and community organizations working in partnership, to pool resources and efforts. The Government of Canada recognized that those on the front lines, who worked directly with the people who were homeless or at-risk of homelessness, were best placed to identify effective solutions at the local level.

Forming a Response

The National Homelessness Initiative (NHI) was designed to support community efforts. While understanding that urgent and emergency needs had to be addressed first, the Government of Canada also realized that communities needed support to plan long-term and preventative measures. Through funding targeted to community priorities and an inclusive planning process, the NHI encouraged cooperation between governments, agencies and organizations that provide services for homeless people and those at-risk. It was apparent that addressing homelessness required more than just providing a roof over a person's head. It involved a whole range of supports and services that an individual may need to achieve independent living. Some people may need emergency shelter, others addiction services or job and life-skills training - some require a number of interventions. Program elements had to address the wide range of challenges homeless individuals face at any given point. Sixty-one communities across the country brought service providers and all levels of government together, developed comprehensive plans, and supported projects which addressed the needs of homeless people and their communities. Many partnerships were formed, more than a thousand projects were funded and homeless people received new and better coordinated supports.

Maintaining the Response

During the first years of the Initiative (1999-2003), communities focused on the most pressing and urgent needs of their homeless populations. They invested primarily in emergency shelters, established new ones, renovated and upgraded others while enhancing support services and facilities like food and furniture banks. Based on the successes and the lessons learned, consultations with stakeholders, Federal, Provincial and Territorial representatives, together with the continuing need to support homeless people, the Government of Canada extended the Initiative for an additional three years (2003-2006). The continuation of the Initiative will help communities continue their efforts to reduce and alleviate homelessness and thus allow them to increase support for homeless people and to focus on longer term solutions such as transitional and supportive housing.

The extension of the NHI will further support the efforts of communities to help more homeless individuals and families to move into more stable living environments and increase their access to the supports and interventions they need to achieve greater self-sufficiency and reduce their dependency on emergency shelter use. Communities will have additional time to encourage and strengthen partnerships and collaboration between stakeholders. To further increase the knowledge base of communities the NHI will also support national and local research efforts, to help identify the underlying causes and trends of homelessness. These measures will permit all parties working to reduce homelessness to make informed decisions that address and prevent the challenges that face some of our most vulnerable citizens.

NHI Programs