'Clear pathway' to 600 highly supportive housing units for London after council endorses plan
London's deputy city manager says the plan defines what features highly supportive housing will and won't have
London City Council has unanimously endorsed a plan that will play a part in bringing the city to its goal of 600 new highly supportive housing units over the next three years.
That endorsement was directed at a report that came before council Tuesday, in which standards and expectations were set out for future highly-supportive housing projects.
"This gives us a clear pathway," said Kevin Dickins, London's deputy city manager. "In this plan, we focus on the need for wrap-around supports and wrap-around care so that people with high acuity, high needs, great vulnerability, can receive the supports they need to be able to be successful in their housing."
The plan is one part of London's whole of community system response to the homelessness crisis. One of the key pillars of that response is the creation of highly supportive housing hubs, Dickins said, adding that the second pillar is the creation of longer-term highly supportive housing.
Since March 2023, when the response plan was approved, 93 highly supportive units have been established in the city, with 40 more on the way, according to the city.
Dickins said the supports outlined in the recently endorsed plans include "everything from food security, hygiene, improving quality of life, improving mental health and physical health," as well as support to increase independence and addiction supports.
"We're talking folks that have been living sheltered or on the streets. Really trying to look at the whole person and wrap those supports around them so they can gain some stability," he said.
In fact, Dickins said, people housed through a partnership with the London Health Science Centre that followed similar principles, have already visited emergency rooms significantly fewer times, and several people have found gainful employment since the spaces opened last October.
On top of defining what features highly supportive housing needs to and doesn't need to include, the plan also defines who qualifies for it based on feedback and information from people with lived experience of homelessness. It includes recommendations for design and price, as well.
The "clear pathway" provided by the endorsement of the plan will mean the city is better equipped to work with agencies interested in providing support, and developers interested in construction projects, to bring more highly supportive spaces to the city in the future, Dickins said.