A 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Calgary
In January 2007, the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness was established by 24 Calgary corporate, government and community leaders to develop a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the city. The committee will be building on a planning model promoted by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which is being implemented in over 230 American cities and counties. The plan designed for Calgary will be delivered by mid-2008.
At the press conference announcing this initiative, Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier stated that "bringing together all sectors of our community, along with all three orders of government, offers an excellent opportunity to develop a long-term strategy for tackling homelessness in Calgary. The City of Calgary fully supports this initiative." For more information, see the document Ending Homelessness in Calgary in the Downloads to the right.
On February 12, 2007, The City of Calgary made a presentation to the Calgary Committee to End Homelessness on "what we know" about homelessness and affordable housing. This information was also presented at the Community Summit on the 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness that was held on April 23, 2007. The presentation is based on a major synthesis report that addresses "what we know" about homelessness and affordable housing. For a short summary of "Highlights" from the major report, see FF-07.
The main body of the report (without appendices) is also available as Research Summary RS-06, and two appendices are offered as Fast Facts documents:
Additional research was conducted during the summer of 2007 on the particular challenges faced by immigrants and refugees in Calgary who are seeking affordable housing. A report on the issues they face was prepared for a Community Forum held on this subject and a survey of the housing experiences of 15 newcomers was undertaken to make certain the voices of immigrants and refugees facing housing issues were included as part of these consultations and to ensure that cultural and linguistic barriers did not prevent their participation.
Building on Past Efforts
Although Calgary's first Count of Homeless Persons was conducted in 1992 (when five people were identified in a street count and a total of 447 people were identified to be homeless), it was 1996 when the first community forum took place to discuss issues and possible solutions to this important social issue. Since then, the Calgary community has worked together to create and refine its understanding of homelessness and its responses.
Many efforts have focused on the care of the homeless, as seen in the following milestones
- The ongoing Biennial Counts of Homeless Persons (with the 2004 Report establishing a new baseline by presenting its findings in the context of 12 years of historical data and a more complete understanding of the range of housing now available for homeless people)
- The establishment of the Calgary Homeless Foundation in 1998 to bring together the private, public and not-for-profit sectors to work together to overcome homelessness
- Community plans to address homelessness in 1998 and 2003 (now within the purview of the Calgary Homeless Foundation)
- Funding programs from the National Homelessness Initiative beginning in 1999 and the Canada-Alberta Affordable Housing Partnership Initiative beginning in 2002
- The opening of a range of emergency and transitional facilities including the Calgary Drop-In Centre and the Salvation Army Centre of Hope in 2001
- A range of research and analysis, from the Street Speaks survey of homeless persons by individuals who had previously been homeless themselves (1996), to substantial Calgary Homelessness Studies in 1997 and 2002, Interagency Shelter User Counts in 2000 and 2002 that tracked full-year shelter utilization, and The City of Calgary's extensive research on affordable housing and homelessness.
Since The City of Calgary does not have a mandate to shelter the homeless, but is deeply committed to the range of efforts which create and sustain a vibrant, healthy, safe and caring community, it is focusing its efforts on homelessness prevention through the Family and Community Support Services program, and on affordable housing as a key element in both the prevention and cure of homelessness. For more information on The City's role in homelessness prevention and cure, see the documents Paying to shelter the Homeless and City of Calgary Homelessness Strategy in the Downloads to the right.
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