A new federal strategy to fight homelessness is officially being launched April 1, and will come with a $4.2 million promise for Sudbury over the next five years. The money will be used to support community-based efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness. $1.2 million of that money will go to the Ontario Federation of Indigenous Friendship Centres to disperse to community projects in the Sudbury area, and the balance will go to the City of Greater Sudbury.
Sudbury MP Paul Lefebvre made the announcement Monday.
He says the program, called ‘Reaching Home,’ replaces the Homelessness Partnering Strategy and is part of an investment of more than $2-billion over 10 years to tackle homelessness. Its goal is to reduce national chronic homelessness rates by 50% by 2027-2028.
Reaching Home is part of the country’s first-ever national housing strategy, which is a 10-year $40-billion.
Under this new program, the Government of Canada will expand the program’s reach by up to six new communities through an application process and will focus on an outcomes-based approach. Communities funded through Reaching Home will have three years to introduce coordinated systems to prioritize people based on need.
“When one person is forced to live on the streets, we’re all diminished. Homelessness is a reality for too many Canadians and a challenge for every Canadian community. Through Reaching Home we’re working with other levels of government, NGOs, Indigenous partners, and communities across Canada to provide more stable housing to people living in homelessness and increasing support for vulnerable groups. This is only the beginning and one of many changes that will make a real impact on the lives of vulnerable Canadians.” said Minister of Families, Children and Social Devlopment Jean-Yves Duclos.
