The Regional Municipality of Durham yesterday reaffirmed its commitment to ending chronic homelessness in the community by 2024 “because everyone deserves a place to call home”.
Housing is a basic human right, said a statement issued to mark the National Housing Day on November 22.
- There are currently 199 people experiencing homelessness in Durham Region. Of those, 92 people have been chronically homeless for six months or longer.
- New housing-focused shelter standards and street outreach strategy are being rolled out towards the end of this year.
- In 2021, more than 100 new housing opportunities were created.
- Durham Region is a part of Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness’s Built for Zero Canada program—a nation-wide effort that helps communities end chronic homelessness. Through the collection of real-time data, the Region and its service providers can better address homelessness in Durham.
As per At Home in Durham, the Durham Housing Plan 2014-2024, the region is developing long-term innovative approaches to improve access to–and retention of–housing. This includes working with community partners to ensure all supports, services and strategies are housing-focused, meaning they are part of a process to help someone be housed and end their homelessness.
To help streamline access to housing and supports, the region uses a By-Name List and Co-ordinated Access System. The By-Name List is a list of people currently experiencing homelessness, who provide consent to receive supports, and are engaged with the support system. The Co-ordinated Access System is used to connect people on the By-Name List with wrap-around supports and housing to help end their homelessness, said the statement.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has created additional mental health challenges, addictions and housing needs, the region continues to find housing solutions for those experiencing homelessness.
The region continues to track progress on homelessness reduction through a monthly report card with Built for Zero Canada, which is supported by the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. This report card focuses on facts about homelessness within the community, which helps the Region to determine next steps.
Learn more about housing and homelessness in Durham Region at durham.ca/Housing.
“Homelessness is a housing status; it is not someone’s identity. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home and The region remains committed to helping those who consent to receive the supports. On National Housing Day, and every day, Durham Region is a caring community where no one gets left behind or falls through the cracks,” said John Henry, Regional Chair and CEO, Region of Durham.
how many times have the people in Durham heard this?
It’s like a broken record a bottomless pit there’s no transparency there’s no morals or integrity when it comes to those that have been elected and staff.
We watch double digit numbers pour in and and easily an average person could have handled and put a huge Dent into the situation and not wait for 3 years.
It’s in the end we have here what I call the Bullshit buffles brain syndrome.
3 years from now I hope someone looks back at what I just says and then shakes their head.