In 2007, the Government of Alberta recognized that the province was facing a growing challenge of homelessness. The reasons for the increase in homelessness were complex, rooted in fiscal, social, and policy decisions over many years.
An estimated 8,400 people were homeless in Alberta; by 2008, this number had increased to 11,000. Homeless and shelter counts provided a snapshot of Alberta’s homeless population:
• 14% of the homeless were living on the street
• 40% had mental health issues
• 50% had some history of substance abuse
• 25% were employed
• 10% were young adults
• 11% were families with school-age children.
Many more Albertans were considered to be at risk of homelessness, spending over 30% of their income on housing.
Homelessness in Alberta was rising, despite the efforts of many hard-working agencies and individuals, and the health, safety, and dignity of homeless Albertans were being compromised every night. This was not acceptable: our fellow citizens, their families, and their children, should not be living on the streets or in emergency shelters. Instead, they should be given the opportunity to re-establish stability in their lives and to maintain permanent housing. Every Albertan deserves the opportunity to succeed.
Furthermore, by continuing to simply manage homelessness rather than taking action to end it, the Government of Alberta would incur projected costs of $6 billion over 10 years. Managing homelessness is extremely costly to taxpayers. Not only does government incur direct costs relating to homelessness, such as funding for emergency shelters and homeless-serving agencies, but we also incur indirect costs – that is, spending in other government systems such as the health, corrections, and justice systems. Costs to manage homelessness are also higher because it is less cost-effective to deliver programs and services to people without permanent homes. Research indicates that it costs $100,000 per year to provide emergency services to a chronically homeless individual; the same individual can be permanently housed with support services for approximately $35,000 per year
Ending homelessness is the right thing to do. Otherwise, the number of homeless people will continue to increase, and the costs of homelessness will skyrocket. However, to successfully reduce and ultimately end homelessness, Alberta needed to take a fundamentally different approach to this issue.
In January 2008, the Government of Alberta established the Alberta Secretariat for Action on Homelessness. The Secretariat was mandated to develop a provincial plan that outlined a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable approach to ending homelessness, including timelines, financial requirements, and measurable goals.
In March 2009, A Plan for Alberta: Ending Homelessness in 10 Years was released. Under the plan, the province adopted a Housing First approach to resolve homelessness, marking a fundamental shift in the way government had addressed this issue in the past. The goal of Housing First is to move homeless clients quickly into permanent housing, then provide them with supports tailored to their needs. With the introduction of this new concept, Alberta hopes to give every Albertan a place to call home.
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