February 12, 2004

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peterborough, Ontario – Approval for the Peterborough City and County Community Plan on homelessness was announced today by Member of Parliament Peter Adams, on behalf of the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Homelessness. Funding in the amount of $404,058 will be provided to Peterborough City and County through the Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative (NHI), to help the city’s homeless people.

“The Funding Sub-Committee of the Affordable Housing Action Committee, acting as the Community Advisory Board for the purposes of this Initiative, has developed a comprehensive action plan that will strengthen Peterborough’s capacity to help individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless,” said MP Peter Adams. “I commend the non-profit organizations, community groups, the private sector and all levels of government for their hard work in addressing and alleviating homelessness in the Peterborough Area. This funding furthers our commitment to continue working together and finding solutions that make an impact.”

Priorities identified in the Peterborough Community Plan on Homelessness include increasing housing retention and preventing homelessness, enhancing outreach, support and aftercare services, and providing emergency housing.

The Community Plan is the community’s vision of how best to help homeless individuals and families. The Plan is a product of a consultative process involving all stakeholders interested in addressing homelessness in a particular community. The community identifies assets, gaps and priorities that meet local requirements to both prevent and reduce homelessness.

By working in partnership with community organizations, the private and voluntary sectors, and other levels of government, the National Homelessness Initiative helps bring all stakeholders together to develop local solutions to address particular needs and challenges faced by homeless people. Through this coordinated approach, the following programs are available to support communities across Canada: the Supporting Communities Partnership Initiative; the Regional Homelessness Fund; the National Research Program; the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System; and the Urban Aboriginal Homelessness Fund.

The Government of Canada launched the NHI in December 1999 to support communities’ efforts to help Canadians out of homelessness. Building on the successes achieved, the February 2003 Budget announced $405 million for three years to continue the federal government’s commitment to addressing homelessness in Canada.

Since the NHI was launched, the Government of Canada has supported 722 projects, with a total of $106,869,455 to alleviate homelessness in Ontario.

For more information on the Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative, visit our Web site at www.homelessness.gc.ca.

For a copy of Peterborough’s Community Plan Update, please visit: http://www.city.peterborough.on.ca/AHAC/documents/communityplans.pdf

For more information, contact:

Deborah Wallace
Government of Canada,
Regional Facilitator
(416) 954-7302

Dennis Carroll
Government of Canada,
City Facilitator, Peterborough Area
(705) 750-4507

Denis D’Amour
Minister Bradshaw’s Office
(506) 851-7134