by Kevin Werner
The Canadian government will allow “grassroots” anti-poverty organizations to develop plans to reduce homelessness in a more flexible manner to receive the necessary funding as part of its revamped homelessness strategy introduced in June.
Federal Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos told 1,300 delegates at the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness conference at the Hamilton Convention Centre, Nov. 5 Canada will provide $2.2 billion over 10 years to reduce homelessness.
The funding comes from the federal government’s $40 billion Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, which plans to reduce homelessness by at least 50 per cent over the next decade. Funding will be doubled to over 60 designated communities, including Hamilton, to $237 million annually starting in 2021-22, an increase from the base funding of $119.3 million in 2015-16.
The federal government is projecting to find homes for 160,000 people over the next nine years.