Why We Care: The Second Annual Homelessness Report Card
Under the leadership of the Community Action on Homelessness, the second annual Halifax Report Card on Homelessness was launched on Wednesday, March 24th and drew significant media and community attention to the issue of shelter use in HRM. The goal of the report card is to profile homelessness in Halifax and provide statistical information on shelter use, income and housing in the city.
Phoenix participated in this year’s report card by providing numbers from our shelter through the national Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) database, participating in the steering committee and being part of the panel for the report card launch.
Some of the significant findings this year include:
• 1,718 people stayed in a shelter in 2009
• 176 were youth aged 16-19 years
• Average length of stay in a shelter decreased from 26 to 19.4 days from the previous year
• Average rent for a bachelor apartment increased 6.5% while income assistance rose 1.2%
The focus on this year’s report card, in addition to providing the necessary numbers for informed advocacy, was on supportive housing as an important piece of the puzzle in addressing homelessness. Phoenix’s Supervised Apartment Program was one of the case studies profiled as a successful model of supportive housing.
Looking ahead, there is some good news on the horizon for other housing-related developments. The province is currently investing $128 million of housing stimulus money into creating and preserving affordable housing across Nova Scotia and 100 new affordable housing developments are in different stages of construction in HRM. In addition, the private sector has been active in seeking housing solutions. In 2009, Killam Properties and Atlantic Living Property Management partnered with Capital Health to provide 49 privately subsidized units to former and existing patients of the provincial mental health system.
Phoenix continues to work with our community, government and private sector partners to seek and support innovative solutions to the housing challenges faced by so many.
