Salt Spring Community Services has signed onto a national initiative that strives to house 20,000 of Canada’s most vulnerable homeless people by July 1, 2018.
The 20,000 Homes Campaign starts from the evidence-supported premise that permanent housing is a necessary first step to helping people work on the underlying problems that can cause homelessness, such as addictions, mental health issues and social/emotional troubles. The program aims to help the most vulnerable people first: those with a history of chronic homelessness and those at risk of death from homelessness.
The Canadian Coalition to End Homelessness was inspired to launch the campaign following the 100,000 Homes Campaign in the United States, which saw 103,000 vulnerable people successfully housed. So far, 21 communities from Sechelt to Halifax have signed on to the Canadian version.
Here on Salt Spring, Community Services is hoping to collaborate with other organizations and individual property owners by identifying those in need, locating safe housing and obtaining funding for the social services supports that will ensure housing is sustained……Read the full Driftwood article
