Where is Housing Help?
In Toronto, housing help services are located in:
- 8 housing help centres
- 60+ shelters
- 30+ drop-in centres
- 100+ multi-service community agencies, including outreach programs
Who Is Served By Housing Help?
Housing Help services assist individuals and families who are homeless, hidden homeless and at risk of homelessness. In 2005, seven housing help centres alone served more than 35,854 people and collectively made contact with over 2,246 landlords.1 Their efforts focused on the hidden homeless and precariously housed people. In 2005, 32,000 people stayed in a shelter, all of whom had access to housing help services within the shelter.2
Why Is Housing Help Important?
The needs of the hidden homeless and precariously housed must be met if homelessness is to be reduced and prevented. In 2005, 29,090 eviction applications were filed, an increase of 10.7% over
2004, and the highest level of eviction applications made since 1998.2
In the last Toronto Report Card on Homelessness3, eviction is listed as the key reason why families turn to shelters. However, while shelters provide temporary shelter, housing help workers within and outside of shelters ensure that clients find and keep their housing by providing them support and connection to other necessary services.
The National Report on Investments and Accomplishments4 states: “Those who are homeless need more than just a place to sleep or a roof over their head to break the cycle of homelessness. Homeless individuals and families require a wide range of supports- access to housing, health services, income support, and employment opportunities. Education and prevention are important … and vital to breaking the cycle of homelessness.
How Is Housing Help Cheaper Than Homelessness?
The Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) estimates the total costs of eviction for a parent with a child living in Toronto is $5,6005, while $1,600 is needed to prevent that eviction. These findings are similar to those found in “Making the Case for Housing Help Centres”6 which estimates that preventing eviction results in a savings of $4,192-$4,654 for a single person and between $11,087-$11,549 for a family.
Sources:
The Housing Help Sector
The role of housing in our lives cannot be underestimated. It is the foundation for family life, social interaction, and community development. It is central to improving our physical and mental health, and our educational achievements. It allows for us to enhance our income security and contribute more effectively to the labour force. Housing is key for immigrants to succeed in the process of adaptation and integration.
The search to find or maintain one's housing is a search for a base from which to build one's life. Housing help workers are conscious of all the aspects of one's life that are affected when the central piece of housing is de-stabilized. The housing help sector assists people to improve their current housing status, and to prevent those who are housed from losing their housing.
Housing Help workers can be found in Housing Help Centres, Shelters, Drop-Ins, Outreach Programs, Supportive Housing providers, and multi-service organizations. Wherever they are located, they have six roles to fulfill in their work:
- Facilitators of Holistic Assessment
- Case Managers
- Advocates
- Mediators
- Community Developers
- Administrators