Federal aid amounting to more than half a billion dollars annually has only managed to reduce the homeless population by about 6,000 people, according to a report by the Budget Office released Wednesday.That works out to $93,500 a person.Blacklock's Reporter said despite this significant spending, the overall number of homeless individuals has grown since 2018.“Since 2018 the number of homeless people has increased by 20%,” stated the Budget Office report.“According to our analysis, achieving a 50% reduction in chronic homelessness would require an additional $3.5 billion per year given current program designs.”Currently, aid provided through the Department of Infrastructure is budgeted at $561 million a year. The federal aid program, Reaching Home, has had a limited impact on homelessness, the report noted.“We estimate interventions funded by Reaching Home are reducing the point-in-time count of homeless persons by about 6,000 individuals, 15 percent, relative to what the count would have been without those interventions,” analysts wrote.From 2019 to 2023, this funding supported placements in more stable housing for 17,849 people annually, emergency housing funding for 5,399 people annually, and core prevention services for 31,164 people annually. Despite these efforts, homelessness has continued to rise.Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government’s spending in the Commons, calling the report "a damning report." He questioned, “If it costs half a billion dollars for the Prime Minister to drive up homelessness, how much would it cost to drive it down?”“The Prime Minister brags about his billions in spending,” Poilievre continued. “People cannot live in billions. His billions have built bureaucracies.”Estimates of the homeless population have varied. A February 2 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons reported 28,631 people were chronically homeless, while a 2023 Statistics Canada report A Review Of Canadian Homelessness Data estimated the number at about 25,000.A 2023 internal audit of the Reaching Home program highlighted its limited success. Less than half of federal aid recipients, around 40%, “remained housed or successfully exited the program” one year after receiving subsidies. The reasons for the 60 percent failure rate were not provided.Additionally, a report by Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle, found that homeless individuals often struggle with addictions or mental health issues. The report noted, “What they want is a place, a home, without curfew and without a schedule which they find in the encampment. For them, the encampment allows them to develop a sense of belonging.”
Federal aid amounting to more than half a billion dollars annually has only managed to reduce the homeless population by about 6,000 people, according to a report by the Budget Office released Wednesday.That works out to $93,500 a person.Blacklock's Reporter said despite this significant spending, the overall number of homeless individuals has grown since 2018.“Since 2018 the number of homeless people has increased by 20%,” stated the Budget Office report.“According to our analysis, achieving a 50% reduction in chronic homelessness would require an additional $3.5 billion per year given current program designs.”Currently, aid provided through the Department of Infrastructure is budgeted at $561 million a year. The federal aid program, Reaching Home, has had a limited impact on homelessness, the report noted.“We estimate interventions funded by Reaching Home are reducing the point-in-time count of homeless persons by about 6,000 individuals, 15 percent, relative to what the count would have been without those interventions,” analysts wrote.From 2019 to 2023, this funding supported placements in more stable housing for 17,849 people annually, emergency housing funding for 5,399 people annually, and core prevention services for 31,164 people annually. Despite these efforts, homelessness has continued to rise.Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the government’s spending in the Commons, calling the report "a damning report." He questioned, “If it costs half a billion dollars for the Prime Minister to drive up homelessness, how much would it cost to drive it down?”“The Prime Minister brags about his billions in spending,” Poilievre continued. “People cannot live in billions. His billions have built bureaucracies.”Estimates of the homeless population have varied. A February 2 Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons reported 28,631 people were chronically homeless, while a 2023 Statistics Canada report A Review Of Canadian Homelessness Data estimated the number at about 25,000.A 2023 internal audit of the Reaching Home program highlighted its limited success. Less than half of federal aid recipients, around 40%, “remained housed or successfully exited the program” one year after receiving subsidies. The reasons for the 60 percent failure rate were not provided.Additionally, a report by Housing Advocate Marie-Josée Houle, found that homeless individuals often struggle with addictions or mental health issues. The report noted, “What they want is a place, a home, without curfew and without a schedule which they find in the encampment. For them, the encampment allows them to develop a sense of belonging.”
