“This success story is not just about me. It’s about what becomes possible when people are given structure, compassion, and the opportunity to rebuild.” 

Those were the words of a newly moved-in resident, shared recently during the opening of a supportive housing unit in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. 

That’s 24 new homes for people experiencing chronic homelessness in the eastern Ontario region, and the supports they need to rebuild their lives. 

The project is being funded in part over the next year by the Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund (HRIF), which comes from the federal government’s $1 billion commitment to Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, announced in Budget 2024.

The announcement in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville is one of several happening across Canada over the past few months, after federal Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson announced the first communities to receive funding through HRIF on October 30 during the National Conference on Ending Homelessness.

In total, nearly $7 million is flowing to 16 communities across the country through the first round of funding. 

“Communities working with us are using real-time data to identify opportunities to reduce homelessness and then using a continuous improvement approach to design and test ideas to see what works,” says Tim Richter, President and CEO of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH), which is administering the fund in partnership with the National Indigenous Homelessness Council (NIHC). 

These 16 projects are of the first of five rounds of funding to be announced over the next three years.  

Second round projects are starting to roll out over the coming months. The expression of interest for the third round of funding opened on February 17 and will close on March 13. 

This is the first formal partnership between CAEH and the National Indigenous Homelessness Council, a coalition of all Indigenous-led community entities and advisory boards across Canada. 

“Despite being about 5% of the overall population, our people represent 30% of those experiencing homelessness, so it’s crucial that we lead, partner with, and support our local communities who are doing the hard work to address this,” says NIHC Executive Director Shane Pelletier. 

“This represents a positive step the government of Canada is taking in addressing homelessness, and we acknowledge the dedication and commitment of Minister Robertson and Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada,” he said. 

Learn more about the funded projects 

To receive HRIF funding, eligible communities must propose an initiative that will measurably reduce the number of people experiencing homelessness. 

In practice, that means each project must do two things: 

• Select a target population of people experiencing homelessness, such as people experiencing chronic homeless (people who have been unhoused for at least six months over the past year, or 18 months over the past three years), unsheltered homelessness, or veteran’s experiencing homelessness. 

• Identify an aim to measurably reduce homelessness by decreasing the number of people entering homelessness, or increase the number of people exiting it. 

Each community chose their target population based on local context, priorities, and importantly, based on the learnings they gleaned from their By-Name Data. 

The priority target group for most round one projects is people experiencing chronic homelessness, with 13 of 16 projects focused on this group. 

Some of the projects are focused on specific populations experiencing chronic homelessness. In St. John’s, the community is focused on people with disabilities experiencing chronic homelessness, while Wellington-Guelph is looking to decrease chronic homelessness for single adults, and Niagara is aiming to reduce the number of seniors experiencing chronic homelessness. 

Others are focused on reducing all homelessness, while Windsor-Essex is aiming reach Functional Zero veterans homelessness. 

A majority of the projects are focused on increasing the number of people exiting homelessness. The initiatives range from adding more supportive housing units in United Counties of Leeds and Grenville; to increasing housing allowances and housing management support in Fort McMurray, Hastings County, and Prince Edward Island. 

Five of the projects aim to reduce the length of time that people are experiencing homelessness by providing early intervention and intensive support, reducing the number of people returning to homelessness after being housed, and introducing dedicated prevention teams to stop people from entering homelessness in the first place. 

Meanwhile, Halton region is working to prevent people from entering homelessness by identifying early warning signs and supporting households before they are evicted into homelessness through a combination of diversion-based case management and housing subsidies. 

And in Medicine Hat, Miywasin Friendship Centre is launching Roots and Roofs, an Indigenous-led housing support program to help people leaving remand secure stable, culturally relevant housing and the services needed to sustain it, including a graduated rent support.  

Projects that are similar will allow for comparison about the effectiveness of initiatives within different contexts, while the diversity of projects means a range of interventions are being tested to see if they can bring about clear reductions in homelessness. 

In the first round of funding, amounts range from $110,000 to $1.4 million for projects lasting up to one year, and a full list of the projects, target populations, and reduction aims can be found here. 

HRIF will help end homelessness in Canada 

The announcement of the first round of HRIF funding took place at a critical moment. 

Homelessness is rising in nearly every community across the country. According to the federal Point in Time count, homelessness has doubled in Canada between 2018 and 2024. Unsheltered homelessness is up a staggering 300 per cent over that same time. 

“Too often, success in our sector is measured by outputs—how many people are served or how many programs are delivered—rather than by outcomes, like whether fewer people are experiencing homelessness,” said Amanda DiFalco, senior director of strategy and people at CAEH.

“The most important question is simple: does this innovation actually reduce homelessness? That’s what HRIF will help us answer,” said DiFalco. 

The information learned in each community will be extended to all of Canada, as CAEH will share lessons and successes nationwide to amplify the impact and ensure investments are being made in interventions that we know will work. 

It’s how the sector moves from managing homelessness to ending it. 

For more details on HRIF and the application process, you can visit the dedicated HRIF website here: CAEH – Homelessness Reduction Innovation Fund.