City Council Endorses Plan to Tackle Homelessness
City Council Endorses Plan to Tackle Homelessness
On Tuesday February 28, City Council unanimously approved a transformational plan to tackle homelessness in our community backed by a $25 million donation from an anonymous donor family.
Throughout 2022, Londoners from all sectors and backgrounds said loud and clear that something needed to change - to save lives, to better deliver healthcare and housing for the most marginalized community members in London, and to address the whole community impacts of this crisis.
This call for change led to London’s Health and Homelessness Summits and the Whole of Community System Response plan approved by council.
The plan was developed collaboratively during the Summits which were convened by Thames Valley Addiction & Mental Health Services, London Health Sciences Centre, London Police Service, Middlesex London Health Unit, Middlesex-London Paramedic Service, and St. Joseph’s Healthcare London. Approximately 200 leaders from all backgrounds and areas of expertise representing over 70 organizations attended the Summits including community health and social services, institutional healthcare, education, emergency services, mental health and addictions, business and economic development, land and housing development, as well as municipal and other levels of government. Together, they pledged to do things different and collaborate on an innovative, collaborative, cross-sector multidisciplinary solution to tackle homelessness in our community.
Highlights of the plan include:
People centered approach - focus on those that need to be served and those that are providing the service
Housing centric - facilitating timely and direct pathways to housing as a core priority
A single, holistic system with integrated care and service functions
Delivered by multi-agency and interprofessional teams
Focused on immediate needs and on delivering pathways to care and housing, on a unique person by person basis
Operating with shared principles - including low barrier, inclusive, harm reduction focused, trauma and violence informed, and rooted in anti-oppression frameworks
Implemented by co-designed processes with folks with lived and living experience
There is a lot of work to be done and change is challenging.
To truly transform into a people-centred, housing-centric solution, we need everyone across sectors, working together and speaking one voice. It is crucial work, and work the community is committed to doing, together, to alleviate suffering, save lives and improve overall community health.
Supported by the Fund for Change, the anonymous donor family has further pledged an additional $5 million in matching funds. This means if our community comes to the table with an additional $5 million, a total of $35 million will be available to transform homelessness in our community. To date, $702,000 has been raised.
We are grateful for the support that the Fund for Change has received so far. Thank you to all of the donors who are stepping up!
To learn more about the Fund for Change or make a donation, visit fundforchange.ca