STAFF REPORT

January 4, 2000

To: Community Services Commitee

From: Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services

Subject: City of Toronto - Homelessness Initiative Fund Final Report (1998/1999)

Purpose:

This report provides information on the projects funded through the City of Toronto Homelessness Initiatives (CT-HIF) fund 1998/1999, and recommends second year funding in the amount of $788,656 to 15 community groups.

Financial Implications and Impact Statement:

The City of Toronto Homeless Initiatives Fund includes a 1999/2000 allocation of $4.724 million to the City of Toronto from the Province as well as an allocation of $881,100 from the City in the 1999 approved budget for the Consolidated Grants Program.

All funds are available in the 1999 Operating Budget. An in-year adjustment to the 1999 budget was set up in order to accommodate the Provincial grant of $4.724 million and spending for 1999/2000. A year end liability has been established for the outstanding balance to cover any remaining payments paid out to agencies in 2000 relating to 1999.

Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

(1) Council approve 1999/2000 City of Toronto Homeless Initiatives Fund (CT-HIF) second year grants totalling $788,656 for 15 agencies, as described in Appendix "A" of this report.

(2) The appropriate City officials be authorized and directed to take necessary action to give effect hereto.

Background:

The City of Toronto is required to submit a final report to the province on the use of City of Toronto Homelessness Initiatives Funds of $1.020 allocated for projects operating in 1998/1999. This report includes information on agencies funded, project activities and results, as well as recommendations for continued funding for specific projects to be considered by City Council. The City's final report was sent to the province on Decemeber 30, 1999 in compliance with the City's agreement. It is attached as Appendix "B."

Funding is recommended in the amount of $788,656 to 15 community groups for second year funding, to be allocated from the City of Toronto Homelessness Initiative Fund in 2000.

Comments:

Projects recommended for renewal have met their reporting requirements as described in the interim report (March 1999) to the Community Services Committee, and are recommended for continued funding based on staff assessment of the effectiveness of the services provided and the continued need for services in the community.

The results of these projects have achieved are very positive, especially considering that project staff were working with some of the most vulnerable people in Toronto.

For the period of May to November 1999, for example, the aggregate service statistics show that:

· 103 people were helped to move from the streets to shelters;

· 317 individuals or households were helped to move from emergency shelters to permanent housing; and

· 684 individuals or households were helped to retain their housing and avoid eviction.

Fifteen of the original 25 projects are recommended for second year funding. Of the 10 that are not recommended, seven projects were only eligible for one year funding under the "Innovations" category, and 3 projects funded under the "Skills Development" category will be referred to the Toronto Homeless Community Economic Development Program (Jointly funded by the City, Human Resources Development Canada, the Ministry of Community and Social Services, and the United Way).

A list of the projects recommended for funding is attached as Appendix "A".

Conclusion:

The 15 projects recommended for second year funding are providing valuable services to some of the most vulnerable homeless people or those at risk of homelessness. During 2000, staff will be conducting a service review of City funded homeless services. This approach will focus on how to co-ordinate services, identify gaps, clarify service and funding mandates, enhance prevention initiatives and improve access to services. CT-HIF projects and the range of services they offer will be an integral part of the service planning process.

Contact:

Simon Liston

Agency Review Officer

Shelter Housing and Support

Phone: 392-0602

Fax: 392-0548

Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services

Appendix "A"

CT-HIF PROJECTS RECOMMENDED FOR SECOND YEAR FUNDING IN 2000

Appendix "B"

CITY of TORONTO REPORT TO THE PROVINCE OF ONTARIO

HOMELESSNESS INITIATIVES FUND

(CT-HIF 1998/1999)

FINAL REPORT

DECEMBER 1999

1. INTRODUCTION

The City of Toronto Homeless Initiative Fund (CT-HIF) funded 25 projects in community based, non-profit agencies in the City of Toronto from its 1998/99 allocation from the Provincial Homelessness Initiatives Fund. CT-HIF was also a source of funds for special projects to address homelessness and emerging needs and to provide supports to projects. The total 1998 allocation from the province to the City was $1.020 million.

After eight months of service delivery and despite limited availability of affordable housing, there are promising results - people have been helped to avoid or move out of homelessness and the capacity of the homelessness support system has been improved. CT-HIF has created important opportunities, allowing the City to expand programs in under-served geographic areas and respond to some of the recommendations in the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force. Funds were allocated to provide enhanced support to the Housing Help sector in all former municipalities, and new "shelter to home" initiatives for chronic hostel users.

As the attached report shows, the results for 1,104 individuals and families at risk of homelessness served by CT-HIF projects have been positive; 684 (70%) were helped to keep their housing. Even individuals with the most challenging life circumstances were helped to overcome tenancy problems through one on one support from project staff. Other people were helped to move from the street or supported in their move from chronic hostel use to permanent housing. Stabilising people's housing and moving long-time shelter residents to housing are key activities to prevent homelessness and create efficiencies in the shelter system.

The CT-HIF has begun to strengthen a social service sector which works with the City's very vulnerable tenants, people at risk of homelessness, as well as those who are currently homeless. As this service sector strengthens, project staff will work more effectively to engage in solutions, both for individuals, and for efficiencies within the service system.

2.CITY OF TORONTO HOMELESS INITIATIVES FUND PROJECTS - 1998/99

A. Objectives

The framework for the CT-HIF projects was set by the province and addressed:

§ Moving people from the streets to emergency accommodation

§ Moving people from emergency to permanent accommodation; and

§ Preventing homelessness by supporting the retention of permanent accommodation

Provincial support for homeless initiatives in 1998/1999 presented an opportunity for the City to achieve some of its objectives as well. For instance, improved co-ordination of the homeless support system was highlighted in the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force report, therefore, CT-HIF projects were encouraged to build on existing partnerships or begin new collaborative efforts. Sector specific funding streams were identified for aboriginal people and for chronic users of shelters in recognition of Task Force recommendations concerning under-servicing for these population groups.

Another general priority for the City was to begin to close gaps in existing services and in geographic areas across the City. Emphasis was placed on using CT-HIF to expand initiatives in the former municipalities of North York, York, East York, Scarborough and Etobicoke where there had been only limited funding available for homeless and housing support services. Forty percent of CT-HIF 1998/1999 allocations went to projects operating in former suburban municipalities.

D. Priority Setting and Allocations

Community consultation and feedback from community agencies helped shape priority areas, activities to be funded, and in some cases identified specific target populations for which project activities were to be directed. For further details about the CT-HIF priority setting and project selection process please refer to the City of Toronto's interim report on CT-HIF first year funding (PHIF Interim Report, July 1999.) Priority setting is an on-going process with opportunities for agencies to have input at regular City Committee meetings and through their reports to the City. Successful projects which address high priority needs may be recommended for funding renewals from the next year's allocations.

Table 1. shows how the 1998 provincial allocation was used by the City in four ways: funding projects through a Request for Proposal Process, funding emerging issues, to off-set staffing costs related to CT-HIF and to hire a consultant to assist with CT-HIF Program evaluation and information management.

Table 1. CT-HIF 1998 allocation

E. Outcomes

i. Projects selected through a Proposal Call $ 805,279

CT-HIF Projects' Aggregate Service Statistics

As part of the City's reporting requirements, agencies produced final written reports on their CT-HIF project. Reports were based on up to eight months of operation. Reports provide service statistics, qualitative information about services and clients, and the agencies' observations about which services are working for people, and which ones are not. The information arising from these reports tended to answer two general questions: Who was helped and how were they helped as a result of the project? and What service planning or sectoral issues need to be dealt with while operating the project, or to improve it?

Service statistics from the projects' final reports have been complied in Table 2. (Project specific information can be found in Appendix A.) Numbers represent either individuals or households, and are for five to eight months depending on the project. In the future, the aim is to have CT-HIF project results that provide an analysis of the long- term gains of specific interventions and comparisons among strategies (i.e. which interventions are most effective for which client group.) Long-term impacts are to be addressed during the CT-HIF Program evaluation.

Table 2. CT-HIF Aggregate Service Statistics Five to Eight Months

(May to November 1999)

CT-HIF Projects' Outcomes - eight priority areas

1. Housing Help: Special Projects $346,676

This group of 7 projects received about 40% of the CT-HIF project funding. Funding was directed to Housing Help Centres, one legal clinic and two community-based multi-service agencies. Funding was dispersed across the City and helped further the City's goal of "levelling" services among former municipalities.

Project staff worked with the most vulnerable people, those with multiple, complex and urgent housing problems which threaten their security of housing. One to one support was provided to clients. To help overcome some of the challenges inherent in this work, staff from these projects met regularly to share information and develop co-ordinated strategies.

Aggregate reports on service statistics, for all projects ranging in length from five to eight months, are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Housing Help: Special Projects Service Statistics

Agencies operating outside the downtown (i.e. in East York, Etobicoke, York etc.) reported working primarily with people at risk of losing their housing (55% to 75% of the client group were at risk of losing their housing, but had no prior experience of homelessness.) Two downtown agencies reported 60% and 75% of their client populations were in and out of homelessness on a chronic basis.

Agencies reported the need for services in languages other than English. The most frequently reported language needs are for Spanish, Cantonese, Urdu, Mandarin and other unspecified African languages and dialects.

Despite a low vacancy rate ( .09%) in the rental housing market in Toronto, CT-HIF projects are reporting their increased capacity to recruit private landlords - an activity which is an essential ingredient to successes in helping people find affordable housing. Success in this area has been largely in the old suburban municipalities, Etobicoke (30% increase in listings), Scarborough (30% increase in listings), where projects had a landlord education and support component as an explicit aim.

2. Crisis Support for Vulnerable Tenants and Landlords $50,000

One project was funded to work with single people with advanced social problems resulting from isolation. One to one, client centred services, with a case management approach was offered. Initial and follow-up interviews at the agency were the primary means of contact.

A significant proportion of the clients were male (87%.) Clients were frequently disabled by mental health or addiction problems (60%.) Most were not eligible for extra assistance under the Shelter Fund or the Ontario Disability Support Program. Despite these challenges , three clients were successfully moved from the street to a shelter, forty-six moved from shelter to home, and thirty-two retained their housing after being at risk of losing it.

3. Initiatives for Aboriginal People $100,000

One project was funded to work with aboriginal youth and another with single, aboriginal people who were living outside in downtown Toronto. People who were ready to start the process of finding and staying in their own housing were supported to do so. A comprehensive, peer group development model was used in both projects.

The Biindged Program reported that ten of their members found housing and continue to maintain contact with the Program. Four other members are at "various stages on their paths away from homelessness." All clients were chronically homeless previously, and most (68%) were men. Two members are employed as trainees with the project and a private sector company is offering employment to other members. Most people who join the Biindged Program begin by coming for breakfast after a night on the street.

The aboriginal youth Drop-in project reports "breaking the cycle of homelessness" by working with 65 Native youth, three quarters of whom were sporadically homeless, regularly moving back and forth from the streets to accommodation. Fifteen youth (making up five households) moved into independent housing, and another forty used hostel services. For example, a young mother was expecting her second child, and was helped to move from the hostel, where she had stayed for 1 ½ years, to her own housing. Addictions, mental health problems resulting from fetal alcohol exposure and problems in shared housing arrangements, which threaten tenancies are all common place issues at the Drop-in.

4. Settlement Services and Housing for Homeless New Canadians $ 50,000

Romero House provided services, which included food, rent and housing assistance, to new Canadians waiting for eligibility documents. The agency also worked with the Refugee Housing Task Group to determine the most effective strategies to prevent homelessness among refugee claimants. (The Refugee Housing Task Group is the City committee which brings together staff from the City, the province and community groups serving refugees.)

Twenty-one individuals are now living in appropriate stable housing with the assistance of the project. This project is also documenting and attempting to enhance "advantages" which their housing seekers can use to help them find housing. For example, units advertised locally on bulletin boards and telephone poles tend to be less expensive but time consuming to track down, so volunteers in their "Housing Scouts" initiative call the main office when they come across vacancy information.

5. Community/Business Initiatives $ 49,448

Projects funded in this category had objectives of enhancing the capacity in local communities to deal with and respond to homelessness. The method used in the projects brings about collaboration among community stakeholders, such as businesses, residents' associations and community agencies.

In one case, the focus was on improving landlords' abilities to mediate conflict with tenants and avoid confrontations and ultimately evictions. The project was successful in bringing about sixty landlords, usually those with a small numbers of units, to local, educational workshops. Thirty-seven other landlords are on a waiting list.

In another neighbourhood, where "street" homelessness is more visible and prevalent, service co-ordination was the focus of community assemblies. The result was better access to free showers and laundry services for people living on the street, who could be taking their first step away from the street by making themselves presentable and clean.

6. Housing for Chronic Hostel Users $100,000

This target area specifically addressed the finding of the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force, that 17% of hostel residents were using 47% of available resources (i.e. bed space over one year.) These projects work with people who stay in hostels for years, or who are in and out of shelters regularly. Teamwork among community agencies, and effective service collaboration were to be a key to helping these chronic hostel users find and secure housing. Specific target groups were families and low-income singles.

One project dealt with single, adult shelter residents who had both addictions and mental health issues. The project was based on a Twelve-Step model used successfully in the United States. They have set up four "recovery groups" and provide six hours of service per week at each location. Eighteen people participate a week, and all are living in shelters.

The other project was to work with families who use the family residence shelter system in Scarborough, either staying there for a long time or repeatedly returning to the motels. For reasons that emerged as the project progressed, the target group changed to become single people who were chronic users of the shelter system. The service statistics show that staff helped move 3 people from the street to shelter, house 20 clients, and helped a further 86 stay in their housing. The client group served was described as predominantly male (80%), and single (80%.)

7. Skills Development $ 74,735

Three projects built community capacities and offered homeless people opportunities to develop skills. The focus was to provide economic development opportunities, which could grow over time with a diverse funding base. Eleven young people completed a training project in food preparation and catering at a youth shelter. To date, one was accepted into a culinary program at George Brown. Twelve women participate regularly in a micro-enterprises project, building self-esteem and reducing their social isolation. Six women were hired to produce business plans for other women's businesses, and two project participants have obtained employment.

Project reports show that participants began to see themselves as contributing members of society after participating in these project activities. Participants also earned at little money. In this way these projects helped people move forward to more independent living.

The City is working collectively with the United Way of Greater Toronto, the Ministry of Community and Social Services and Human Resource Development Canada as contributors to a new Community Economic Development program for 2000.

8. Innovations for People Experiencing Homelessness $ 34,420

Funding in the "Innovations" category provides seed money for creative new initiatives . It is intended to enable homeless people to develop practical skills which are transferable to a variety of settings. In these small projects, homeless people developed a lunch program, produced a newsletter and performed odd jobs, among other activities. The results were concrete, immediate and satisfying for participants. Participants appreciated the opportunity to give back and were provided with small earnings.

A total of 38 homeless people earned honorariums through their active involvement in these CT-HIF projects. Other people were touched by the work as well. For instance, 45 volunteers, who were also homeless participated in projects in less intensive ways, by contributing to a newsletter, acting in a play which had been written by those employed in the CT-HIF project and helping serve meals. In some cases, the activities of the CT-HIF project benefited many others: 977 people ate meals prepared by the volunteers, 1000 newsletters were distributed, 200 people were part of the audiences for plays performed and 8 families were moved from a motel to their own housing.

Project funding in this category was limited to $ 5,000 per project for 12 months.

ii. Funding for emerging issues $ 119,980

1. Eva's Phoenix $ 100,000

Funds of $100,000 were used to support the development of a youth employment training project at 11 Ordnance. The training is taking place during construction of a new housing and training centre, Eva's Phoenix. This project is funded through partnerships with other levels of government, unions and the private sector. The CT-HIF funds are being used to top up other funding so that experienced tradespeople are available to train the youth at a ratio of 4 students to 1 journeyman. This facilitates the training and promotes safety on site. For example, after the classroom sessions, skilled painters worked side by side with the young trainees painting the facility. The journeymen correct techniques and identify job skills, such as getting along with colleagues, that are necessary to maintain employment.

Fifty homeless and "at risk" youth are being trained at the site and are using their new skills to build the facility. As of November, 1999, 19 youth had started training and 17 completed a 15-week program. Most of the youth are homeless while participating in the training. Since graduating, all 17 young people found full time employment.

2. Rent Bank Bridge Funding $ 5,000

Services offered by a Rent Bank Pilot Project were extended for several months using $ 5,000 in "bridge" funding. This enabled Neighbourhood Information Post, the agency providing Rent Bank loans to families at risk of losing their housing, to operate until the City's next funding cycle (i.e. CT-HIF 1999/2000) was available to support the project. The Pilot Project gave loans to 64 families, 90% of whom would have been evicted for non-payment of rent, according to staff assessment.

As of the beginning of December, 54 families were still housed, 49 in their original housing and 4 families were in the shelter system. 91% of these families had no prior experience with homelessness. The average loan was $1,100.

3. Tenant Services Study $ 14,980

A "Review of Information and Advisory Services to Tenants and Landlords in the City of Toronto" was initiated in 1999. The purpose was to ensure that vulnerable tenants and their landlords have adequate access to services which offer information and advice to help preserve tenancies. Two experts were contracted to consult with tenant and landlord sector representatives, and various agencies providing service (e.g. Housing Help Centres, Community Legal Clinics, Ontario Rental Housing Tribunal, Federation of Metro Tenants' Association, etc.). The review created an inventory of services, identified gaps in service (e.g. lack of information in multiple languages), and made recommendations for improvements directed at Legal Aid Ontario, the City of Toronto, and the Province. Specific outcomes from the review include recent City Council decisions to increase City funding to the tenant hotline service and decisions of the Board of Legal Aid Ontario to expand the Tenant Duty Counsel service and create a specialised legal clinic for housing issues.

iii. Staffing and CT-HIF Project Support $ 64,741

The staffing costs related to the management of CT-HIF are partially offset by the provincial contribution of $ 64,741.

iv. Program evaluation $ 30,000

The City's new responsibilities for housing and homeless support require new approaches to grants program management and delivery. To a large extent this is a practical matter: the grants programs are more numerous, with a variety of complex objectives and a dollar value much larger than in prior years. But there are new sensitivities, which much be addressed in grants management as well. The political context demands accountability and value for the expenditure of public funds. For these reasons, a small portion of the CT-HIF 1998/1999 funding has been set-aside for consulting assistance.

The City has issued a Request for Proposals to engage a firm, which will provide guidance in the areas of information management and evaluation. The timing of this work is such that it will benefit from the practical experience of 25 CT-HIF 1998/1999 projects. They provide a starting point and an experience base with the priority setting and reporting processes the City has used so far. Within the next few weeks a decision will be made on how and with whom this work will proceed.

3. GENERAL TRENDS

Trends in Projects' Reports

The accomplishments in CT-HIF projects since their interim reports (July, 1999) have been significant. Projects which extended existing services within agencies, such as Housing Help services, were able to quickly move into effective provision of service as their service statistics indicate.

Other projects provided agencies with an opportunity to set out new objectives and explore new strategies. For instance, in projects working with chronic hostel users, new services or service partnerships had to be established as part of the initial stage of the project. Trust and positive relationships had to be built with the client group, project partners and within the agency which was taking on new responsibilities. CT-HIF has strengthened capacities among community-based agencies to respond to housing crises and homelessness through projects which broaden the agencies' existing services, or deepen the intensity of their work in new and experimental ways.

Many CT-HIF projects were able to work one to one with clients, and were able to devote intensive, time consuming, attention to helping individuals find solutions to their housing situations. Without these interventions, people would have fallen through the cracks.

The observations from projects were that:

§ The most vulnerable people, and those with fewest skills to compete for scarce resources, often have addictions and mental health issues

§ CT-HIF has enabled agencies to spend more time with each vulnerable client and has supported this labour intensive approach; one on one interventions are effective when sufficient time is dedicated to each case

§ More emphasis on recruiting new landlords has resulted in more people being placed in vacant units and better landlord relations

§ Seniors are hard to reach to let them know about services

§ Need for co-ordination of information on vacancies - rooms and apartments

§ More language capabilities and ethno-sensitive services are needed

§ Community members want to help but don't know how; agencies don't have time to effectively direct offers of volunteerism and donations

CT-HIF projects are operating in a changing social and economic environment and this impacts upon service delivery. Projects reported that:

§ The number of households at risk are increasing, especially for those people in highly vulnerable category of paying 65% or more income on rent

§ Evictions are carried out more quickly under Tenant Protection Act than under previous legislation and for different reasons (i.e. increase in "persistent late payment of rent" as grounds for eviction and "overcrowding")

§ Both tenants and landlords lack knowledge of the legal eviction process

§ People have been able to make significant advances in improving their housing conditions through increases to the Community Start-up Allowance and broader use of this entitlement that allows people to pay arrears or moving expenses. CT-HIF projects report gains made by families using the new Shelter Fund as well.

§ Project staff and social assistance staff continue to meet and create opportunities to exchange information, among CT-HIF projects and local welfare offices in many communities.

Sector support and interagency service planning

Sector support is a generic term which includes front line staff training, organisational development and collective planning on service delivery. Most CT-HIF projects had staff participating on committees which had mandates compatible with the objectives of the projects. Examples of these committees are found in communities across the City (e.g. Scarborough Homelessness Committee, Etobicoke Housing Committee) and within the City of Toronto Committee structure (e.g. Alternative Housing Committee, Advisory Committee on Socially Isolated People.)

While some form of sector support and collaboration occurred in most projects, the work of CT-HIF projects in the Housing Help priority area exemplified some good practices and highlights some challenges for next year. In 2000 and beyond, sector support will become increasingly important as service areas are defined, staff training needs identified and collective planning is needed to bring about efficiencies in the service sector. Learning from the Housing Help practices can in some cases be transferable to other service areas.

The seven CT-HIF Housing Help Special Projects worked as a group to exchange knowledge on service changes which impact upon Housing Help services. Guest experts were invited to talk to the group on the following topics:

§ Shelter Fund and Community Start-up increases in Social Services

§ Tenant Protection Act

§ Social Housing Connections

Regularly scheduled training opportunities for front line and project management staff proposed for next year will greatly enhance capabilities of the projects and help ease time demands for difficult cases.

Some agencies offering Housing Help services are collaborating with new projects which were piloted in 1999 (i.e. Rent Bank and Early Intervention Eviction Prevention.) Next year, five of the seven Housing Help projects propose to work with the Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (CERA) by calling tenants (who have been identified by CERA using Rental Housing Tribunal data) who are close to being evicted. Housing Help projects are planning to provide the follow-up required for effective case by case interventions. As well, Housing Help staff have been trained to process loan applications for the central Rent Bank, which is used to help families avoid evictions due to arrears.

Service planning in the Housing Help sector will be a high priority next year. The Community Partners Program will be transferred to the municipality in January 2000, prompting a need for clarity as various funding streams and objectives are managed by a single unit within the City. The goals for 2000 will be to have housing help services available where they are needed most (there is currently no Housing Help Centre in the downtown), a funding stream which is adequately resourced and links among agencies and projects which allow for systematic and efficient service delivery.

The City's work with the Housing Help projects will serve as a model for working with other groups of projects with similar services and aims (e.g. outreach projects, drop-in projects.)

4. PLANS FOR 2000

The projects funded under CT-HIF (1998/1999) will be completed early in 2000. To be eligible for second year funding, the final reports of the project have to demonstrate that the objectives of CT-HIF were met, that project goals were achieved, and people benefited. Agencies could propose new activities that would improve the services they provided as long as it was within the priority area for which they were originally funded. Those projects approved for second year funding will continue to provide services uninterrupted, as funding will be available at the beginning of the year.

Ten projects were not eligible for renewal as they were either time-limited (i.e. one year funding) or will be recommended for consideration under a new, cost-shared funding stream (i.e. Toronto Homeless Community Economic Development Program.)

Fifteen of the 1998/1999 projects are recommended for continued funding in 2000 Decisions about funding renewals have been based on the project's eligibility for second year funding, the feasibility of the second year work plan and on project monitoring undertaken by staff throughout the year.

The various funding streams under the CT-HIF and project timetables will be synchronised next year. CT-HIF reports on project activities will be prepared in February and December 2000.

The CT-HIF program is one of several new responsibilities at the City. The province has directed the City to take a management role in two related programs: Community Partners, Supports to Daily Living and has made funding available for hostel "redirect" programs. These programs must be reviewed in relation to each other and plans for managing these programs put in place. These activities will take place in 2000.

5. CONCLUSION

In 1998/99, CT-HIF funding of $1.020 million was allocated through a proposal call process, and was used to fund 25 new services, 3 projects related to emerging needs and was used to offset a portion of the City's administrative expense related to delivery of this new grants program. The CT-HIF (1998/1999) projects were operating by May 1999, and were funded for a year.

The Provincial Homelessness Initiative Fund has added significant new resources to the City to expand programs in under-served geographic areas and respond to some of the recommendations in the Mayor's Homelessness Action Task Force.

The three provincial objectives (i.e. supporting people to move from the street to shelter, from shelter to home, and to find or maintain suitable housing) are compatible with the City's "continuum of need" approach. All projects funded in the City's CT-HIF proposal call met one or more of the province's three objectives. After eight months of service delivery, there are promising results: people have been helped to avoid or move out of homelessness and the capacity of the homelessness support system has been improved.