How you can help

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What we face
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Why the Current Challenges

• Deinstitutionalization in the mid-1990s without
  sufficient and appropriate community supports has
  resulted in a dramatic increase of high-needs,
  high-risk people with mental illness and/or
  substance use disorders on our streets
• The withdrawal by senior governments of supports
  for affordable housing construction and real
  estate market conditions have resulted in a
  serious shortfall in affordable housing
• Years of social policy shifts and societal
  changes have created a perfect storm of
  unprecedented social challenges

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120-Day Task Force

• The Task Force was mandated to identify and cost
  options for a comprehensive, client-centre model
  and to recommend steps for implementation
• The Expert Panel undertook best practice research
  and developed a new service delivery model to
  meet the specific needs of Victorias street
  population
• The Gap Analysis Team provided an inventory and
  costing of existing services, a business case and
  an implementation strategy
• The Steering Committee provided recommendations
  for an integrated health and social approach and
  timelines and targets

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Who is the Population at Risk?

• 1242 homeless
• 75 male 2/3 absolutely homeless
• 30 high risk for health needs 70 low to
  moderate risk
• Mental illness and substance use are the norm
  with at least 40 suffering from diagnosable
  mental illness at least 50 struggling with
  problematic substance use 25 co-occurring
  disorders
• Heavy users of emergency and acute care health
  services 66 of all homeless individuals
  admitted to hospital by VIHA have a mental health
  or substance use related condition
• Heavy users of police services VPD has
  identified 324 homeless individuals responsible
  for 23,000 police encounters over a period of 40
  months costing 9.2m

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Who is the Population at Risk?

• Adolescent and Emerging Adult
• An estimated 250-300 adolescents and emerging
  adults between 14- 25 years of age are street
  youth
• Many have childhood maladjustment associated with
  conflict, violence and neglect by family or
  caregiver - cited as their primary reason for
  homelessness
• Majority are using alcohol and/or drugs on a
  regular basis FASD is common
• Women
• 25 of homeless are young women ages 21-30 10
  earn primary income from the sex trade
• Fleeing domestic violence or unsafe housing with
  25 having children with them

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Who is the Population at Risk?

• Aboriginal
• 20-25 of homeless are Aboriginal but are only
  2.8 of population of CRD
• Loss of cultural identity associated with
  systematic discrimination had led to societal
  breakdown, loss of family supports, widespread
  FASD, unemployment and substance use disorders
• Poor/Working Poor
• Adults who have become homeless because of loss
  of income associated with redundancy, poor
  cognitive capacity, unemployment, lack of skills,
  divorce, and/or physical disability, but who do
  not have issues of severe addiction, SMI or
  chronic antisocial behaviour
• This groups tragedy with housing issues extends
  to their children

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Task Force Outcomes The Current System
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Task Force Outcome The Current System
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Task Force Outcome The Expert Model
Basic Supports, Need-Adapted Low-Threshold
Services, Treatment, Recovery Rehabilitation
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Task Force Outcomes The High Cost of Inaction

• Taxpayers spend at least 62 million in policing,
  prisons, hospital costs, emergency shelter, parks
  clean up and needle pickup
• Each homeless resident in Victoria costs more
  than 50,000 per year
• It would take 17,000 to 47,000 per year to
  house each person and provide supports
• 76 million is currently being spent on housing,
  mental health and addictions supports and most of
  this is not reaching the homeless people on our
  streets

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Going Forward Together

• The purpose of the Greater Victoria Commission
  to End Homelessness is to
• engage community organizations, governments and
  non-governmental agencies to work in partnership
  with each other and the broader community
• to lead and drive the commitment to end
  homelessness.
• The Commission provides planning, funding,
  monitoring and evaluation of targeted actions
  that specifically support strategies to end
  homelessness in Greater Victoria.

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Governance Structure
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Leadership Council

• Mayor Alan Lowe, Co-Chair
• Hon. Ted Hughes, Co-Chair
• Mayor Don Amos, Town of Sidney
• Councillor Denise Blackwell, Langford and CRD
  Chair
• Councillor Susan Brice, District of Saanich
• Councillor Charlayne Thornton Joe, Victoria
• Sharon Halkett, Chair of the Board, United Way
• Darlene Hollstein, Chair, Downtown Victoria
  Business Association
• Margaret Lucas, President, Greater Victoria
  Chamber of Commerce
• Rev. Harold Munn, Downtown Churches
• Dr. Bernie Pauly, VCAS and UVIC Faculty of
  Nursing
• Howard Waldner, CEO, Vancouver Island Health
  Authority
• Doug Allen, Member at Large
• Alicia Koorn, Member at Large
• George E. Lafond, Member at Large
• Levi Van Doren, Member at Large

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Strategic Goals for the Commission to End
Homelessness

• Immediately start to house the high-risk,
  high-needs population concentrated in downtown
  Victoria and provide support them with Assertive
  Community Treatment Teams
• Follow that with a prevention-focused strategy to
  reduce new cases of homelessness
• Integrate planning, policy, and funding and drive
  the integration of our fragmented programs and
  services

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Year 1 Commission Targets

• Secure at least 100 new housing units across
  Greater Victoria
• House at least 50 high risk / high need clients
• Define and adopt model of care (client-centred,
  relationships first, supported Housing First
  philosophy)
• Establish 4 ACT, F/ACT and Integrated Service
  Teams with cross-training
• Open a One-Stop Access Centre to support
  integrated service delivery
• Operationalize data systems and shared
  information protocols

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Accomplishments to Date

• 205 supportive housing units slated for
  completion by 2010
• 100 homeless have been housed since Nov 1 and
  May 1, at least 10 have been the most high
  risk/high need
• Establishment of ACT and Integrated Support Teams
• Victoria Integrated Community Outreach Team (Feb
  08)
• Downtown Outreach Team (April 08)
• Seven Oaks ACT (May 08)
• Detox expansion (May 08)
• .5 Million in operational funding for Commission

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Collaborative Action

• We need to work together as a community this is
  a problem we can solve
• The status quo is not an option
• We have the evidence to prove what works
• We know what it will cost for housing and
  supports
• We know what has to change
• We need the support, commitment, perseverance,
  compassion and will to make it happen

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