Housing for All Strategy PDF

Saint John, New Brunswick · adopted 2024-07-23

This is the exact embedded text of the captured official document. Snapshot 2a02070df407 · verified 2026-06-07 · original document · archived snapshot · unofficial consolidation, the official version is held by the municipal clerk.

Housing for All. S A I N T J O H N H O M E L E S S N E S S S T R A T E G Y ( 2 0 2 4 T O 2 0 2 7 ) Small City, Big Heart. Petite Ville, Grand Cœur. 2. Housing for All. HOUSING FOR ALL STRATEGY - IN BRIEF 4 OVERVIEW 5 VISION 7 ALIGNMENT 7 Summary Of Action Plan 8 Strategic Objective 1: Coordination and Governance 8 Strategic Objective 2: Emergency Supports 9 Strategic Objective 3: Prevention, Education and Safety 10 Strategic Objective 4: Housing Supports 11 Implementation Considerations 12 APPENDIX A - Stakeholder Engagement 14 APPENDIX B - Glossary and Definitions 15 Contents. 3. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) OUTCOMES 1. To provide safe community spaces for access by all residents, while supporting individuals as they access housing that meets their specific needs. 2. We will strive to make homelessness rare, brief and non- recurring. Housing for all strategy - in brief PURPOSE The Saint John Housing for All Strategy identifies our community's coordinated response to addressing homelessness over the next three years using a person- centred and human rights approach. This strategy advances our shared vision of every resident having a safe, supported, and sustainable home. Strategic Objective 1 Strategic Objective 2 Strategic Objective 3 Strategic Objective 4 Strategic Priorities. C O O R D I N AT I O N A N D G O V E R N A N C E E M E R G E N C Y S U P P O R T S P R E V E N T I O N , E D U C AT I O N A N D S A F E T Y H O U S I N G S U P P O R T S Housing for All. 4. Overview 1. There are many terms used to describe homelessness, such as homeless, unhoused, houselessness, housing insecurity. In this document, definitions are primarily used from the Homeless Glossary for Communities from Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy (April 2024). This Housing for All strategy refers interchangeably to 'people experiencing homelessness' or 'houselessness.' This person- centred approach emphasises the individual experiencing the crisis and recognizes that their identity cannot be solely defined by where they live. 2. Data: provided courtesy of the Saint John Human Development Council (SJHDC) Sources: Saint John Point in Time Count, 2023 and 2021, and Homelessness Individual and Family Information System (HIFIS) HOPE IS A HOME. Housing is a basic human right, a fundamental building block of a healthy, inclusive, sustainable community. Home is the place where we extend our roots to build our lives, nurture ourselves and our loved ones, and engage in our community. Canada is facing a housing and a housing affordability crisis and Saint John is not immune to its effects. Across the country Canadians are struggling and the number of persons experiencing homelessness1 is rising. In the first six months of 2024, the Saint John Fire Department has responded to ALMOST 200 CALLS FOR SERVICE TO ENCAMPMENTS related to reports of smoke in the area, outside fires, and tent fires. People experiencing homelessness in Saint John in 20242 in Saint John experienced HOMELESSNESS FOR AT LEAST 1 DAY in the past year. 663 individuals 62% 69% Over the last two years the number of people who experienced chronic homelessness in Saint John HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED TO 344 INDIVIDUALS. of people experiencing homelessness visited an Emergency Room IN THE LAST YEAR AN AVERAGE OF 5 TIMES. There has been a increase in the number of emergency shelter users IN THE PAST TWO YEARS. Over half of people experiencing homelessness interacted with police an average of 15 times. 57% 5. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) Visible homelessness is noticeable to the public and refers to situations where individuals are staying in shelters, or in unsheltered locations not intended for human habitation. More and more unhoused sites have been established all throughout the city, and they are often found in very unsafe locations, close to vulnerable populations (such as children in schools or daycares), can often become very unsightly and a risk to public health, and at worse become places where people living there experience tragic and untimely death due to fires, cold weather, drug use, and other preventable issues. Hidden homelessness is also prevalent and refers to people staying temporarily with others without guarantee of continued residency ("couch surfing") or people staying in short term rentals with no security of tenure, such as a motel. These individuals are often living in precarious situations that can change at a moment's notice. Homelessness affects the health of our community, impacting healthcare resources, crime and safety, and yields profound physical, mental, and emotional strains. However, despite these challenges, our community is working together to support people experiencing homelessness through prevention and diversion initiatives, collaborating on creative solutions, and exploring various housing opportunities to best meet our community's needs. There are a significant number of organizations and individuals already collaborating together to end homelessness. Saint John is very fortunate to have community agencies organizing emergency shelters, food banks and food security, drop-in service, outreach, harm reduction, education and skills development, data collection and analysis, crisis care, transitional housing, counselling, public safety, clean-ups, financial assistance, and a whole host of other much needed services, including the support of all three levels of government to address homelessness and support individuals experiencing it. The purpose of this strategy is not to replace this important work; this three- year strategy is a collective action plan to further increase coordination and ultimately help move Saint John closer to a future state where homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring. Every resident within the City of Saint John is entitled to a safe, supported, and sustainable home. Housing for All. 6. Vision. Every resident within the city of Saint John is entitled to a safe, supported, and sustainable home. In the spirit of the right to adequate housing articulated in the 1948 United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The City of Saint John wishes for its residents to live in security, peace, and dignity, regardless of the home's permanence. The City of Saint John's goal is to provide safe community spaces for access by all its residents, while supporting individuals as they access housing that meets their specific needs. Alignment. The Housing for All Strategy outlines how Saint John will provide support to people experiencing homelessness. This will be accomplished in partnership with all levels of government, local organizations and stakeholders, and generous community members, through compassionate, informed, and innovative ways to provide dignified housing options and a wide variety of social supports. A 'Housing for All' approach also focuses on the unhoused having temporary housing, as permanent housing options are being implemented. This strategy is aligned with Common Council's priority BELONG as well as Council's catalytic advocacy efforts related to affordable housing, including the City of Saint John Affordable Housing Action Plan. The Housing for All Strategy is also informed by and aligns with the New Brunswick Housing Strategy 2019- 2029 and Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy. 7. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) Summary of action plan. See APPENDIX B for abbreviations. Many of the actions in this strategy are already taking place, and collectively all the actions will result in transitioning more people experiencing homelessness into permanent housing, greater coordination of services, providing additional places to sleep, reducing unhoused sites scattered throughout the city, and several pilot projects that could be used in other communities if successful in Saint John. Organizations listed as Lead or Partners in the Action Plan have committed to help support that specific action in this Strategy. The Action Plan will serve as our community's three-year work plan on supporting our unhoused population. Strategic Objective 1: Coordination and Governance # Action Deliverable Lead Partners Timeframe 1 Service Agreements Service Agreements will be created between Government and front-line agencies or service providers to provide supports to people experiencing homelessness. GNB Front-line Agencies, CITY 2024 and Ongoing 2 Legislation The City will draft enabling by-laws and policies for the implementation of this strategy. CITY Beginning Q4 2024 3 Relocation and decommissioning The City in collaboration with the Province of New Brunswick will create a program for the respectful and dignified relocation of individuals sleeping rough in red and yellow zones. The program will also coordinate the restoration of an encampment area to its natural and clean state. CITY, GNB Front-line Agencies, CITY Beginning Q2 2025 4 Compliance The City will review By-Law Enforcement Officer(s) resources and where necessary recommend additional resources to support the implementation of the Housing for All Strategy, subject to budget approval. CITY GNB Beginning Q4 2024 5 Mapping Mapping tools will be used to identify the locations of all unhoused sites so supports can be offered. CITY, Front-line Agencies CITY Q4 2024 Housing for All. 8. Strategic Objective 2: Emergency Supports # Action Deliverable Lead Partners Timeframe 6 Unhoused Sites (supported sites with structures) The City in collaboration with the Province of New Brunswick will implement supported unhoused site(s) program for pilot sites for up to twenty-five (25) individuals per location. CITY, GNB Front-line Agencies Beginning Q4 2024 7 Foundation Centre - Homelessness HUB The Province of New Brunswick will establish and operate a HUB for individuals experiencing homelessness where they can access a variety of services in the city. GNB, Outflow Ministry CITY, Front-line Agencies Q2 2024 8 Out of the Cold Shelter The Province of New Brunswick will open an Out of the Cold Shelter in Saint John annually between December and March/April to provide emergency housing for people sleeping rough. GNB Front-line Agencies Q4 Annually 9 Increased Shelter Beds The Number of Emergency Shelter Beds in the city will be permanently increased and adjusted based on future demand with considerations being given to accessibility and other factors such as older adults and families. GNB CITY, Front-line Agencies Beginning Q3 2024 10 Unsheltered Sites As a pilot, the City working with the Province of New Brunswick will identify permitted areas where the unhoused can erect tents within the city limits and establish appropriate policies and processes. The program will identify: - Green Zones where Unhoused Sites (structured) will be located - Yellow Zones where erecting a tent is permitted at certain times of the year - Red Zones where unsheltered structures of any kind are not permitted and removal will be enforced CITY GNB, Front-line Agencies Q3 2024 9. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) Strategic Objective 3: Prevention, Education and Safety # Action Deliverable Lead Partners Timeframe 11 Site Cleanup Service The City will implement a cleanup program to assist residents of occupied unsheltered sites by offering garbage collection as appropriate. CITY GNB, Front-line Agencies Ongoing 12 Non-Emergent Calls Identify a means for the public to communicate concerns or questions regarding unsheltered sites or homelessness, and educate the public on this means of communication. CITY, Police Q2 2025 13 By Names List The By-Name List (BNL) is a real-time list of all people known to be experiencing homelessness in Saint John. A point in time count will be run annually to provide current information regarding people experiencing homelessness in Saint John. HIPSJ Front-line Agencies, GNB Annual 14 Data Collection and Sharing Increase the amount of relevant real-time data to support the implementation of the housing for all strategy. HIPSJ Front-line Agencies, GNB Ongoing 15 Information Campaigns The City will communicate to the public accurate information regarding homelessness, harm reduction, mental health and addictions, housing, and other related content. CITY GNB, Front-line Agencies Annual 16 Sharps Containers The City will install additional sharps containers and front-line agencies will make portable sharps containers available to clients. CITY, Avenue B GNB Q2 2025 17 Site Visitation Front-line Agencies and Saint John Fire will make routine visits to sites to provide information and supports to those residing there. Front-line Agencies Saint John Fire Ongoing 18 Site Health Services Public Health and other health services will visit sites as identified by the outreach team(s) to provide needed health services. Front-line Agencies, GNB Q2 2025 and ongoing 19 Update Municipal Emergency Management Plan Saint John EMO will update the Municipal Emergency Management Plan to clarify resources to support unhoused individuals during an emergency. CITY GNB, Front-line Agencies Q1 2025 20 Staff Training Select City staff will be offered trauma informed training, and some staff and service providers will be offered harm reduction training on handling of sharps, emergency use of Naloxone (Narcan), and harm reduction. CITY, Front- line Agencies Avenue B Q4 2025 and ongoing 21 Community Based Projects Additional funding for new innovative community- based projects will be sought to prevent and reduce homelessness in alignment with the National Housing Strategy. HDC GoC, GNB, Front-line Agencies 2024 and ongoing Housing for All. 10. Strategic Objective 4: Housing Supports # Action Deliverable Lead Partners Timeframe 22 Transitional Housing Options A new transitional housing project will be established to house 25 individuals. GNB CITY, Front-line Agencies Q4 2024 23 Public Housing The Province of New Brunswick will construct new public housing in Saint John. GNB CITY Beginning 2025 24 Supportive Housing Options The Province of New Brunswick, Front-line Agencies and City will collaborate on potential supportive housing options. GNB, Front- line Agencies CITY Q3 and ongoing 25 Use of Sea Cans Decommission at the appropriate time the Exmouth / Waterloo Streets unhoused site and relocate residents and sea cans. Kaleidoscope HDC, CITY Evaluated bi-annually 26 Coordinated Access Front-line Agencies and Partners will use the Coordinated Access System which is a process through which individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness, are provided access to housing and support services, based on a standardized intake procedure, assessment of need, and matching and referral to housing. HIPSJ, HDC Front-line Agencies Ongoing 27 Rent Supplements Additional Rent supplements will be sought from Government funding partners by using the By-Name List. HDC, GoC Front-line Agencies 2024 and ongoing 28 Skills Development for Housing New programs will be offered to assist people experiencing homelessness with developing life skills to move forward through the housing spectrum based on their individual needs. Front-line Agencies GNB 2024 and ongoing 11. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) Implementation considerations. It is important to note that the Housing for All Strategy is a living document; it will continue to develop and change in response to our community's needs and based on lessons learned from implementing the various actions. It is important to recognize that this three- year strategy will not completely solve the issue of homelessness, nor is it designed to. Rather, this strategy is the next series of steps we are taking as a community to address homelessness over the next three years using a person-centred and human rights approach. The strategy represents a shared and collective vision of the direction we are heading. To be effective it is critical that all stakeholders delivering on the actions are all rowing in the same direction and working collaboratively. Equally important is the commitment of proper resources from all levels of government, each according to their proper role and responsibilities. Without sufficient resources, and especially the construction of new transitional housing units and more affordable housing, Saint John will continue to witness a further proliferation of encampments and people experiencing homelessness. However, Saint John is fortunate to be home to so many outstanding organizations and individuals who day in and day out work on the front lines, and behind the scenes to address the issues of homelessness and support the people experiencing it. By continuing to work together with compassion, innovation, and dedication, Saint John can become a place where homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring. Housing for All. 12. Appendices. 13. These organizations have provided invaluable feedback related to homelessness in Saint John and their input was used to draft this strategy. Many of the organizations listed are also direct and active contributors to the development of the action plan and have committed to assisting in the successful delivery of the overall strategy. Organization Department Avenue B Centre for Youth Care City of Saint John General Counsel Office City of Saint John Growth and Community Services City of Saint John Public Safety Committee City of Saint John Public Works and Transportation City of Saint John Saint John Fire Department City of Saint John Strategic Services City of Saint John Utilities and Infrastructure Coverdale Centre for Women EY Fresh Start Services for Women Inc. Government of New Brunswick Social Development Government of New Brunswick Public Health Horizon Health Network Housing New Brunswick Corporation Human Development Council Kaleidoscope Social Impact Mobile Mental Health Outflow Ministry Saint John Police Force [Police] Chief's Community Action Group Roundtable Saint John Transit Salvation Army Stone Church Teen Resource Centre Appendix A. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Housing for All. 14. GLOSSARY City City of Saint John - including its various departments Front-line Agencies Non-Governmental Organizations directly funded by the Government to provide services directly to people experiencing homelessness. GNB Government of New Brunswick - including its various departments GoC Government of Canada HDC Human Development Council HIPSJ Homelessness Information Partnership Saint John Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope Social Impact Police Saint John Police Force DEFINITIONS By-Name List (BNL) The By-Name List (BNL) is a real-time list of all people known to be experiencing homelessness in the Saint John area. Chronic Homelessness Refers to persistent homelessness where people have been homeless for 180 days or more at some point over the course of a year (not necessarily consecutive days); and/or recurrent episodes of homelessness over three years that total at least 18 months. Homelessness The state of an individual or family who does not have a permanent address or residence, and does not have the immediate prospect, means, and ability of acquiring it. In general, homelessness includes people staying in unsheltered locations, in shelters or somewhere temporarily because they do not have the resources to secure their own permanent housing. People experiencing homelessness often transition between locations, as most people who sleep outside are likely to access shelter at some point. Point in Time (PiT) Count One of the best methods of determining progress is through the use of Point-In-Time (PiT) Counts. Alternatively referred to as "Street Counts," "Homeless Counts" or "Street Needs Assessments" PiT Counts are a measure of the number of homeless people on a specific day (hence the point in time reference). Homelessness Individual and Family Information System (HIFIS) The Homelessness Individual and Family Information System (HIFIS) is a real-time list of all people known to be experiencing homelessness in the community. Appendix B. GLOSSARY AND DEFINITIONS 15. SAINT JOHN HOMELESSNESS STRATEGY (2024 TO 2027) S A I N TJ O H N . C A Small City, Big Heart. Petite Ville, Grand Cœur.