Good morning.
Thank you for the invitation to speak to this issue. My focus today will be to describe the federal government's homelessness partnering strategy and how it contributes to addressing the needs of aboriginal women off reserve who are homeless or at risk of being homeless due to domestic violence.
Homelessness is a complex and multi-faceted issue with numerous contributing factors, such as low income, mental health and substance abuse challenges, a lack of affordable housing, and family violence and conflict.
Combinations of these factors often lead an individual or family into homelessness, rather than a single trigger. While it is difficult to determine an accurate count of the homeless population across Canada, we do know from homeless counts undertaken in various cities that aboriginal people are overrepresented among the homeless population and that aboriginal women are often overrepresented in the female homeless population.
As well, research indicates that aboriginal women may be at higher risk of homelessness because many of the common risk factors are more prevalent among aboriginal women—factors such as low wages and family violence. We also know that this issue is not exclusive to large urban centres but is also evident in small communities across Canada and in the north.
Because of its complex nature, a collaborative approach involving many different partners is often needed to address the challenge of homelessness. In response to this, the Government of Canada adopted the homelessness partnering strategy in 2007: a community-based approach that brings together a range of partners at the local level to identify issues and find local solutions.
The strategy provides funding directly to communities to support their efforts in working collaboratively with their partners, efforts that will help homeless individuals move toward greater autonomy and self-sufficiency, and to prevent those at risk of homelessness from becoming homeless. This approach recognizes that communities have unique issues and priorities that are best addressed at the local level, with local partners.
The result is a community-based approach that has been successful in strengthening the capacity of communities to address homelessness and leveraging funds and community resources from other key players, such as other levels of government and the private sector.
How does the strategy work? The strategy has seven funding streams, three of which are delivered regionally through Service Canada. I will speak to some of these.
The designated communities funding stream, which is $83.7 million annually, is the main component of the homelessness partnering strategy. This stream funds projects in 61 designated communities, primarily major urban centres identified as having a significant problem with homelessness. The funds are targeted to local priorities identified by the community through a comprehensive community planning process that requires broad consultation and consensus at the local level, involving a range of stakeholders.
This approach is meant to ensure that communities are positioned to leverage resources to the greatest extent possible. It is through this process that local issues related to homelessness resulting from violence against aboriginal women can be raised as funding priorities.
The aboriginal homelessness funding stream, which is $14.3 million annually, recognizes the overrepresentation of aboriginal people among the homeless and at-risk populations. While not required, many aboriginal community partners develop community plans to guide their decision-making and project selection. Similarly, through these processes, issues related to homelessness and violence against women can be raised.
The rural and remote homelessness funding stream, which is $5.6 million annually, is designed to respond to the underserved homelessness needs in non-designated rural and remote communities, including the north. Communities with populations of 25,000 and under are the main priority for funding.
It should be noted that projects funded under the designated communities and the rural and remote communities funding streams often target the needs of aboriginal people living off reserve and experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
Let me now speak to some of the results. Since 2007, 57 projects valued at just over $27 million, and funded through the three regionally delivered streams previously mentioned, have targeted aboriginal women exclusively, and a number of these address the needs of aboriginal women who are homeless due to violence.
As well, through national program spending, we have seen the needs of aboriginal women who are homeless or at risk of being homeless being addressed through the transfer of federal properties for projects that support victims of domestic violence, through the funding of research projects related to aboriginal women and/or violence, and through working with other federal departments and agencies to explore new ways to address homelessness.
The homelessness partnering strategy will ensure that the government continues to assist Canadians who are homeless, including aboriginal women, by building on the strengths of a community-based approach that engages a broad spectrum of partners to identify local priorities and leverage resources for local solutions.
Thank you.