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The
Next Step in the Government’s Action
Plan on Homelessness
June 2, 2000
This morning, the Federal Coordinator on Homelessness,
Claudette Bradshaw, announced the next step in the Government of Canada’s
action plan on homelessness.
It will get help to communities that need it most urgently --
where the day-to-day battle against homelessness takes place.
A $305-million investment under the Supporting Communities
Partnership Initiative (SCPI) will soon be available to communities across
Canada.
SCPI will enable communities to marshal the strengths of
various local partners to develop solutions to their unique needs.
It will help them develop a seamless web of supports to enable
homeless Canadians to move from the streets and emergency shelters to a more
secure life.
80 per cent
of the investment will go to those communities where homelessness is most
pressing: Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Hamilton, Toronto, Ottawa,
Montreal, Quebec City, and Halifax.
20 per cent
will go to communities that can demonstrate a problem with homelessness.
These funds will be allocated on a provincial/territorial
basis.
The Government of Canada will fund up to 50 per cent of the
cost of implementing the plan. The other 50 per cent will come from partners
such as other levels of government, and the private and voluntary sectors.
The $305-million SCPI is a key component of the Government of
Canada’s national $753 million response to homelessness.
The other national components are:
- $118 million over three years to expand existing programs
for youth and urban Aboriginal peoples;
- $7 million over three years for research, accountability
and reporting;
- $311 million over four years for the enhancement of the
Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (RRAP) and expansion of the
Shelter Enhancement Initiative;
- $2 million to facilitate the development of community
plans; an
d
$10 million over three years to make surplus federal
properties available for homelessness-related activities.
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