CALGARY ACTION COMMITTEE
ON HOUSING & HOMELESSNESS
September 2013 Community Forum
SESSION NOTES
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
1. What assumptions in the Plans To End Homelessness need to be challenged now
that we have more information and experience?
 The one size fits all approach
 e.g. that housing first will work for everyone
All the different plans
 That ending homelessness is just about a house – some case management
 Benefits of transitional housing and sober housing – client centered approach
 Return to homelessness due to lack of skills to maintain housing
 Stages of housing (more?)
 Open coordination application process?
 HMIS Access / understanding for the masses
 Add things like employment to the model
 The assumption that the “system” outside the plan works
 Gentrification
 Political will
 Community support
 That there is an “end” to this entity
 Paternalistic attitude
 Homeless as bad, no value, people who are homeless do not have any value as is
 Poverty / those on cusp of homelessness will take care of themselves  increasing prevention
 Government must solve the problem   grassroots movements
3. What could we do to enhance the cohesiveness and ease of access to services for
people in need of our services?
 Report / track shared outcomes among agencies
 Encourage collaboration and put the onus back on the City of Calgary. Homelessness affects everyone.
 Data sharing (HMIS) between agencies to work with homeless
 Expand FOIP legislation – shouldn’t cause barriers
 Open sharing systems
 Have an ‘Agency Moment’ at community meetings to learn about other agencies
 AHS have a ‘Lived Experience’ moment
 Comprehensive care of clients, support addictions, mental health, domestic violence, health issues
 Prevention strategy for people living in poverty
 “SCORCe”
 Opportunity to connect people & services
1
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum







Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
 Tracking & evaluation
Access =  Resources
Agency communication needs to improve ?Newsletter? in response to staff questions, policy questions,
etc
Accessing services needs to be an asset not a barrier
Coordinate access entry point to available housing options
Implementation of & practice cultural safety policies at all agencies
Creating incentives for agencies to work together
Train the trainer so all groups working with homelessness are aware
4. When you think of ending homelessness, what are the things that need our
immediate attention going forward?



















A charter of rights responsibilities for people accessing services (specifically in shelters)
Streamlining criteria
Clarification on housing program  what constitutes affordable housing
More communication within organizations  frontline – management
Care management component is important in addressing the needs of those being housed / providing
counseling as well
Bringing awareness campaign to new counselors & public after the elections (lobbying for affordable
housing)
Rental subsidies
Affordable housing units
 Larger family units! Calgary Housing needs to acknowledge non-traditional family units!
Eligibility requirements for rental units
Secondary suites: incentives / subsidies to create!
 Re-open issue with municipal government
Prevention
 Increase funding
 Utilities, rent help
Incentives / awareness to landlords – legal rights
Using election timeframe to re-visit issue of secondary suites
Lived experience + stories
Keep pushing social justice / homelessness issues both publicly & politically
 Affordable housing strategy City of Calgary  influence prior to budget cycle!
“Pass the buck” syndrome
 Portfolio responsibility issue
 Accountability
Assumptions of 10 year plan – look at Grassroots experts in field may not be involved in these
discussions. Does Government need to solve or community?
Danger in making needs of homeless population may not be accurate
Need individual client centered plan – variety of plans
2
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
Portable housing available post shelter discharge – why not more of this for homeless population?
Looking at homeless as an emergency / crisis (prototype in Toronto)
Realistic analysis of all outcomes of strategies to end homelessness
More barrier free options for homeless population
Better inter-agency communication about how to serve the homeless population
Societal stigma for homeless population
 Lots of judgment – not working
 Flood society rallied around issue – help communicate that homelessness is a crisis as well to  support
 Bring in homeless population into the solution discussion






5. If our success in ending homelessness was guaranteed, what bold steps might we
choose to make it happen?



















Re-purposing shelters
Challenge privacy legislation in AB to have open HMIS system
More support for women (transitional housing)
Increase harm reduction programs w/appropriate funding
Urban planning w/focus on increased diversity (ensure it’s supported by appropriate transit dev.)
Guaranteed annual income
Living wage
Free public transit
Rent control / rent caps
Free land
Public / private funding / support that’s legislated
 Corp. investment
 Individual
 Community
Increase awareness of issues and make relevant to all (community / individual)
Builders will have incentive to build below market value housing (reserved land for affordable housing
when developing new communities)
Council will make policy to ensure above
Promote scattered sites (PSH) – full spectrum of options
Educate and communicate homelessness issues to Calgarian citizens
 Including education on tough / untouchable issues like harm reduction
Infrastructure in place in rural communities to support homeless
Policy + framework in place to prevent homelessness
 Assessment – factors leading to current situation
 Supports available to these people (Agency & Community)
Empower “Grassroots” movements to specialize in their “strong” areas
 Increase visibility to get government attention
 Incentivize
 Specialize
3
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
 Re-think the purpose of shelters
 Not home
 Opportunities (work, life, etc) exist in all major cities & provinces
 Prevent migration based on opportunity
 Focus more on issues beyond housing – if we know they’ll be housed let’s take addictions, trauma, other
root causes / underlying issues that will surface when housing is secured
 Long-term care facilities for those people that cannot live independently
6. Thinking about the Plans To End Homelessness and our role in ending
homelessness how can we support each other in taking the next steps?














Understand one another’s programs so we can refer and collaborate appropriately
Embrace centralized access & assessment, SORCE
View as “our clients”  shared commitment & responsibility
Share resources, don’t compete
Working together to place clients who are within a program that may not be the best fit
Honor / recognize / compensate for all to ensure long term commitment and reduce risk of compassion
fatigue (goal: staff retention)
Need for funding that covers all areas of need (diversity of programs to match client needs)
Using central intake to assign $ value to client needs – used to determine most appropriate program
(ICM & lower needs)
 Allowing any not for profit to pick up that client with dollars attached
Collaboration w/respect for client choice
Report outcomes as joint – encourages funders to consider strength of collaborative work / partnerships
Cross training among agencies
Open communication
Addressing client need for relationships by offering rec opportunities across agencies
Opportunities for consultation / debriefing across agencies
7. Thinking about the Plans To End Homelessness and our role in ending
homelessness what are the unique contributions that we each make?











Promote & advocate  SCORCe
Accountability
Navigator
Ability to develop genuine relationships with many diverse stakeholders
The ability to see the good in every situation and believe in possibility
Love
Raising awareness, educate
Outcomes measurements speak to the need & provide credibility
Disturb the comfortable & confront the disturbed
Engagement – The ability to reach people’s heart
Telling their stories
4
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum













Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
The ability to see bigger housing solutions in thinking outside of the box (Church parking lot)
Insight from a global perspective
Promote collaboration & communicate amongst ALL sectors, regions and inspire action
Great courage to speak about hard issues
Look beyond limitations
Listen
Review proposals
Experience to help inform, guide & direct surrounding Aboriginal homelessness
Provide supports & resources to keep people housed
Advocate through barriers draw collaboration
Build bridges & connect
Focused expertise on a certain niche i.e. youth
Bringers of hope, courage, change, cushion
8. When you consider the work that you are each doing in support of ending
homelessness what has been your major learning or insight so far?
 NOT enough resources for those seeking housing / maintain
 E.g.: for damage deposits
 Community expectations that certain organization will provide rents / (past practices)
 Wait times for funded CHF programs too long
 Donor fatigue ( stress on donors)
 No rapid re-housing solutions for families
 E.g. eviction
 Discharging people from shelters, hospitals, jails to 0 housing
 Tourism – stop saying come to Alberta unless you have a job / housing (in-migration)
 Need a  Prevention plan
 High need clients
 Not for profit organizations do not have access to “big $” anymore
 Sustainability program / plan to keep clients housed  agency ability to do this
 CHF criteria for rent subsidy needs to be available to all Calgarians
 Better collaboration between service organizations
 E.g. SCORCe (one stop shopping)
 Front line workers compassion fatigue
 Worker compensation for not for profit
 Agency to designate one person to focus on homelessness
 Housing first philosophy
 More holistic approach to meeting client needs
 Being housed may create new skills / support -  stress
 Stereotypes of homeless population – de mystify many judgemental attitudes
 Not in my neighborhood attitudes
5
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
 Myths against domestic violence – homelessness do not have a good understanding of how prevalent the
issue is
 Not one size fits all
 Needs to be research, evidence based
 Unique
 Not one home will have everyone
 Always going to have too few resources  needs better allocation of resources
 Better match for clients
 Address factors to address homelessness
 Don’t want to talk about it  need to bring homelessness into the light
 Improved campaign collaboration
 Improved policy sharing / advocacy / working groups
 Engaging all levels surrounding housing
 Stigmas / fear / putting people in a box
 Social issue – multi faceted
  education
 Economic disparity  educate corporate / wealthy
 Housing 1st is not the answer
 Rent control
 Educating donors / public regarding evidence based ‘success’
 Being aware of developmental skills
 Community Extension Teams
 Systems work together “It takes a village”
 1 model doesn’t fit all
 Meet homeless people with where they’re at
 Not to do for them what they can do for themselves
 Assess what they can do for themselves
 Staff retention is key so focusing on steps to improve this
 Human Resources
 Creative, adaptive, client centred?, client focused
 i.e. Failing in one plan, may need to support re-forming the plan
 Patient in efforts  A journey out of homelessness
 Continue to work with ppl
 Need to address systems, how they support, interact, cooperate, where are the gaps, how to address those
gaps
 Continuum of services & supports
 Assessment based
 Past 6 or 7 years misconceptions still out there: lazy, addicted, choose the lifestyle
 Surprised of people’s reactions against homeless people and lack of empathy
 Disconnects in service make it hard on clients to navigate system
 Prejudice against AISH; criminal records; aboriginal / minority
 Impact of homelessness on children is huge
6
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum


















Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
Hidden homelessness is rising
Non-support for families & system turn-a-ways
Aboriginal migration to city cores without urban skills
Non-understanding of Aboriginal unique culture / needs etc.
 Foster care / justice / reserves / residential School
Need cultural awareness
Immigration
Success in transitional housing of with income supports – what happens when this ends?
Best practice
 Sharing needs to happen across sectors
Language barriers / cultural barriers are difficult for immigrants
Vast information regarding resources
How much competition for funding occurs
It’s not just finding space, maintaining housing is also a challenge
How much of a barrier internal politics & ideology plays in services
It’s difficult sometimes to find the proper program for a clients specific needs
Funding models – government deciding / buying policy. The private sector is less involved now
It takes a crisis to make engagement solutions
Often financial aid only sustains poverty
The homeless people need more political engagement! And fewer barriers to voting
9. What can we do together that will make the most difference when it comes to
ending homelessness?

















Interagency & interdisciplinary coordination
Access to housing
Understanding population
More holistic approach to care – system working in a more coordinated way
Need to be more involved with City planners
Legislation needs to change
Responsibility needs to lie within all levels of government
Don’t let this issue fall off the radar. Make social issues an election issue
More quality of services, more standardization of services, portability of benefits
Understand roots cause or why – homelessness
Need more stock
 Cap rental markets
Ego and territory OUT
Empower Grassroots Movement
More robust data & evaluation models
More transparency
Utilizing most effective models
Data, data, data
7
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
 Prevention
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
10. How can we better connect people in need with the resources that they need?
Are our information systems like informalberta.ca, 211, etc. being used well?
What could be done better?















Changes to privacy act (FOIP)
Cross sector / agency access to information on clients for a more holistic approach
Trust professionals with the information – trust they will use it professionally
Eliminate barriers to access
Encourage use and ensure it is user-friendly
Get the word out regarding informab / 211
Centralization of databases for one main / user friendly system
 To be used by individual / sector / community
Better training for staff to effectively use the resources
Standardization of forms / process for client intake and cross-organization programs
Find a way to identify common ground around service provision and ensure the client is receiving the
right help / service
How is 211?
 Hand-out that lists resources
 Needs to be updated
 Challenge that it is search engine based
Other resources
 Google
 Twitter
 Peers / co-workers
 Networking
 City of Calgary survival guide
 Aboriginal resource guide
 Face-to-face agency interactions
Clients
 If there are too many options  not efficient
 Very informed
 Rely on word of mouth
 Dependant on computer skills
Suggestions:
 Hard copy important!
 Always allow for networking by sub-pop (ex. families)
 Education about new resources coming on
 Digital agency connect
 Partner with library
People in homelessness = in trauma
8
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
 “Street Survival Guide”
 Services change quickly and info is obsolete within months
 Access to internet
 Facebook
 Outreach workers to convey info to clients in person
 Resource centers: current info, self serve
 Networking
 CACHH  updates re: new programs, changes in resources
 Word of mouth – peer outreach and consumer directed info
 Is 211 promoted enough?
 Many have not heard of it, and many who have heard of it are not using it
 Street guides: publish more of them
 run out quickly
 SCORCe: will it increase info access?
 211 & Coord. Access connection
 Info access is critical to prevention
 Navigators – person to provide lice assistance
11. Are there additional resources or connections that currently do not exist that
would enhance our ability to end homelessness?
 Mental health services (lack of)
 More accessible
 Wait times
 Access more affordable housing
 More supports for people exiting the correctional system
 Youth transitional support for youth 18 – 24 aging out of child welfare
 Prevention programs for adolescents on how not to become homeless
 Programs to be introduced into school curriculum
 More daily living skills programs
 Re-integration programs (addictions, corrections, etc.)
12. What additional information or research is needed in order for us to reach a
deeper level of understanding / clarity in relation to ending homelessness and
moving towards sustainability?





Will always need research trends
Talking to those with lived experience
Preventative supports
Qualitative research on factors of people who have been successfully housed for longer periods
Investigating front line screening tools / scales
 E.g. Gain shorter screening
9
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
 What are the resiliency and protective factors that prevent people from becoming homeless because of
addictions or mental health
 More localized research, not research from America or even the rest of Canada
 Research on immigration / migration patterns  continuous as this changes
 History of child welfare involvement
 What is the cost to the system for putting people in correctional facilities who commit petty crimes (e.g.
c-train tickets)
 From an outcomes standpoint what is / isn’t successful with programming changes that have been
implemented
 Participatory action research – Homeless community (engaged) involved
10
CACHH May 2013 Community Forum
Project Agency Connect Questions / Answers
11