Canada    
News release

April 19, 2004

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

City of Guelph and County of Wellington Community Plan Approved – Homeless people and those at-risk to benefit

Guelph, Ontario – The Honourable Brenda Chamberlain, Member of Parliament for Guelph-Wellington on behalf of the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Minister of Labour and Minister responsible for Homelessness, announced today funding of $200,000 through the Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative (NHI) to the City of Guelph and the County of Wellington.

“The approval of the Community Plan on Homelessness and its subsequent funding will enable the people of Guelph and County of Wellington to directly address homelessness in our community,” said Ms. Chamberlain. “The Government of Canada’s National Homelessness Initiative is based on working extensively with communities, like ours, and using our local know-how to best develop effective, long-term strategies to help alleviate homelessness.”

The objectives and priorities of the Community Plan include increased social housing; long-term affordable rental housing; transportation access to emergency shelters; and increased transitional and temporary housing.

The Plan is the community’s vision of how best to help homeless individuals and families. It involves all stakeholders interested in addressing homelessness in a particular community, and allows for priorities and any gaps in services to be identified to help ease and reduce homelessness.

By working in partnership with community organizations, the private and voluntary sectors and other levels of government, the NHI is bringing all stakeholders together to develop local solutions that work 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 National Homelessness Initiative in December 1999 to support communities’ efforts to help Canadians out of homelessness. Since the launch, the federal government has supported more than 625 projects, with total funding of over $125 million, to alleviate homelessness in Ontario. Funding is provided for in the March 2004 federal Budget.



Since December 1999, communities across Canada have undertaken over 1,800 projects, funded wholly or in part by the National Homelessness Initiative. These projects will result in:
  • The creation of approximately 8,000 new, permanent beds in shelters, transitional, and supportive houses;
  • The construction, renovation, and enhancement of roughly 1000 sheltering facilities and support facilities, such as food banks, soup kitchens and drop-in centres;
  • The transfer of 50 federal surplus properties worth over $9 million, which will result in the creation of 214 transitional and affordable housing units; and
  • In addition to the Government of Canada investment, partnerships have leveraged over a half billion dollars towards the implementation of homelessness projects in Canada.

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

For more information, contact: Deborah Wallace
Government of Canada
(416) 954-7302

Denis D’Amour
Minister Bradshaw’s Office
(506) 851-3419

Ross Tayler
City Facilitator, Guelph
(519) 571-5510