Redesigned www.housingfirsttoolkit.ca launched today. New modules and evidence-based resources coming soon!
The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) today transferred the Canadian Housing First Toolkit to the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) who relaunched the site this morning with an updated, user friendly design. This valuable online resource helps organizations and communities across Canada plan, implement, evaluate and sustain Housing First programs. The toolkit also includes videos and external links to online resources.
Responding to the need to build Housing First capacity in Canada, the Canadian Housing First Toolkit was developed and released by the MHCC in June 2014. Housing First is an effective evidence-based approach that ends homelessness by offering participants immediate access to housing of their choice through rent subsidies and access to mental health services and supports, all without preconditions.
“This toolkit has become Canada’s national textbook on Housing First and it is a vital resource for ending homelessness,” said Tim Richter, President & CEO of the CAEH. “The toolkit is a living textbook and we’re working with our partners and experts in the field to add new modules and evidence-based resources to keep up with evolving community needs. Kudos and thank you to the MHCC for leaving with Canadians this amazing living legacy of the At Home / Chez Soi program.”
“It is only natural that the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness assume the responsibility to host and further develop this valuable resource,” said Louise Bradley, President and CEO of the MHCC. “The toolkit goes hand-in-glove with the Housing First Training and Technical Assistance program which MHCC transferred to the CAEH in April 2016 and which has since been expanded under their direction.”
The MHCC’s role is to catalyze action, raise awareness and mobilize stakeholders to improve the mental health system by seeding innovative projects that can then be taken up and spread by key partners who assume the leadership from the MHCC. Both the training program and toolkit were developed by experts from across Canada, including leaders from the At Home/Chez Soi project, the world’s largest research demonstration project on Housing First.
“The Mental Health Commission of Canada is excited that Housing First best practices and tools will continue to be made available to communities through the CAEH and looks forward to the continued growth and success of the Canadian Housing First Toolkit under their leadership ,” said Bradley.