Housing First puts six in homes
Councillor says next step is to get mobile outreach program up and running
John McFadden
Northern News Services
Wednesday, December 7, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Six people have now been placed in homes under the Housing First program.
That is according to Bree Denning, executive director of the Yellowknife Women's Society, which has the contract to run the program until March 2019.
Denning said two more people are to be placed in homes in early December with a goal of 20 people in the program by 2019.
She added the program is progressing well considering it is just over a month old. It was mid-October when the first person was placed in a home under the program.
"It's a little early to say whether it's been successful. The individuals are housed and that is the intent of the program," she said.
Denning said the amount of rent paid for by the Housing First program depends on the individual, how much money they are receiving from income support and how much their rent is.
Both men and women have been placed in housing so far.
"Part of the program is to provide support to the clients in their homes," Denning said.
"A weekly home visit is part of the participant agreement. We're learning a lot about the program day-by-day. Everyone is different. Some individuals may require more support than others. We're figuring out things as we go but I wouldn't say that we've discovered any glitches in the program as of yet."
Denning said delivering Housing First has opened up her eyes to how extensive needs are in the community.
"We're still doing the intake assessments. We're only a drop in the bucket in meeting the needs," Denning said. "We'd like to offer more but based on funding and staffing we are not there yet."
Funding for the program has come exclusively from the City Of Yellowknife. Denning said Housing First continues to work with the territorial government to see if it has funding available for the program.
"There are at least 40 or 50 people who have done assessments so far," she said. "It's not done on a first-come-first-serve basis. Who gets into the program depends on their vulnerability assessment. It changes day-by-day."
The idea of the program runs the opposite of previous initiatives, which placed housing readiness first - the expectation being that if individuals dealt with substance abuse, mental health and lifestyle problems first, housing would follow.
Housing First works in reverse, with the idea that once people are housed, they'll be able to make changes in a stable environment.
Medicine Hat was the first Canadian city to launch a Housing First program in 2009.
Coun. Linda Bussey, who is chair of the city's advisory committee on homelessness, said she is very encouraged to see people are being placed in homes at a relatively rapid pace.
She said now that Housing First is up and running, she would like to get a mobile outreach vehicle going.
It would travel city streets in an effort to help people who may have addiction and mental-health issues and perhaps no place to get in from the cold. Bussey is encouraging the territorial government to move forward on constructing a sobering centre, a place for intoxicated people to rest until they are sober.
"If the sobering centre is not open can we still start this program? Sure we can," Bussey said. "It's about making sure people are warm, bringing people some food, some blankets and comfort. If they need to go to Stanton (Territorial Hospital) we can bring them. If they need to go to a shelter we can bring them."
Bussey added that with the weather turning colder, she would like to see the mobile outreach program up and running as soon as possible.
Mayor Mark Heyck stated in an e-mail the city is in the process of developing a request for proposal (RFP) for mobile outreach. He stated he expects further details to be released in the near future.
