21-06-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Fading into the background
Opinion
The number of people in Canada experiencing homelessness continues to climb despite increased government funding. This prompted dozens of experts from across the country to gather at a landmark forum convened by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) to look for answers to help the 34,000 Canadians who — on any given night — don't have a decent place of their own.
The main outcome of this gathering, the new report Housing First: What's Next?, released this week, confirms what we've witnessed firsthand: there are proven and effective approaches to end chronic homelessness.
The report asserts that Housing First — a Canadian-made strategy that addresses housing insecurity — is a proven method to effectively keep people stably housed over the long term.
As a country, how do we stand by as our neighbours cycle through emergency rooms, shelters, and jails? Why do we settle for high-cost band-aid interventions when a permanent fix is already within reach? It's like searching for reading glasses perched on our head.
We can't expect people to recover from mental illness or addiction without the dignity of a door that locks. Securing safe, affordable housing is the crucial first step. It's a moral imperative, and fiscally responsible.
The principle is straightforward: offer permanent housing in regular units scattered throughout communities — no strings attached — then deliver tailored supports for mental health, substance misuse, employment, and community integration. Rather than requiring people to 'earn' housing through demonstrated 'good behaviour,' Housing First posits – correctly – that a safe place to live is foundational for recovery.
Just as we wouldn't expect someone with pneumonia to get better in the rain, we can't expect someone diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia to recover while navigating shelter waitlists.
We were both heavily involved in At Home/Chez Soi, a federally funded $110 million project launched by the MHCC, which ran from 2008 to 2013. It found that chronic homelessness could be ended permanently for most people by combining housing with portable support.
With decades of experience under our belts, our conviction has not wavered. Like the dozens of experts who participated in the workshop that led to the report, we continue to believe Housing First should be adopted and scaled up as best practice.
When people have stable housing and access to community supports, we see measurable results: fewer hospitalizations, reduced emergency room visits, and decreased police interactions. These outcomes help offset the cost of implementing Housing First programs.
While other countries have embraced this Canadian best practice — Finland and Norway have nearly eliminated chronic homelessness using a Housing First approach — we're still working to fully realize what we ourselves have pioneered.
Despite its proven success, implementing Housing First is hard work.
It requires carefully coordinating health, housing, justice, and social services that typically operate in silos. It forces us to confront the uncomfortable reality that our housing market has become the privilege of the few, rather than a basic human right. But these challenges can be overcome.
During our national forum, experts agreed that an ever-shifting landscape requires an equally nimble response. Our report serves as a call to action and a road map: we need Housing First programs to follow the At Home/Chez Soi model, while upping the ante by collecting better data, creating culturally appropriate supports, establishing improved workforce training, boosting leadership, and increasing public engagement.
Creating more deeply affordable housing is also urgent, encouraging private market and not-for-profit landlords to support individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness — people who are deserving of equitable access to housing opportunities.
Taken together, we know this will transform lives. Ironically, when Housing First works well, you don't see it. People integrate into communities as tenants and neighbours, a refreshing contrast to the increasing visibility of suffering on our streets.
We can all contribute to meaningful change. By understanding evidence-based approaches and working within our communities to prioritize and implement them, we create pathways to housing stability. Each of us has a role in fostering communities where everyone has a place to call home.
Above all, we must never turn away from suffering, especially knowing the proven remedy is in plain sight.
Tim Aubry is Emeritus Professor at the University of Ottawa and Co-Chair of the Canadian Housing First Network, and Jino Distasio, is a professor at the University of Winnipeg.
