Here's what this St. John's advocacy group says governments can do to end homelessness
4-year plan outlines 17 recommendations for all levels of government
End Homelessness St. John's has released the steps it feels are needed to drastically reduce homelessness over the next four years, and outlined what all levels of government need to do to help.
The organization's community plan, released Thursday, said homelessness has risen and become more visible in recent years. The report, comprising 97 interviews and 363 written submissions, found 864 people experienced at least one night of homelessness from April 2023 to March 2024.
Over that same period, 584 people were considered chronically homeless.
Jennifer Tipple, senior director of strategy and impact with End Homelessness St. John's, said the plan underscores the need for three major investments through 17 recommendations addressed at all levels of government: A need for more housing development, more supports for people over time and the need for more financial resources to do it all.
"We really wanted to capture the portrait of homelessness in St. John's. All of the intersecting issues that relate to housing and homelessness, and then to really pull together a fulsome set of action items … in order to create a St. John's where everyone has a place to call home," Tipple said.
The plan's first call to action is on all three levels of government to acknowledge the role collaboration plays in ending homelessness. It calls for co-ordination through federal, provincial and municipal housing strategies that can also ensure public lands are available for housing development.
Additionally, the report also calls on the federal government to take the lead by assessing the National Housing Strategy and making sure funding is properly aligned.
What the province can do
The plan lists eight recommendations for the provincial government to implement, including the implementation of a provincial housing and homelessness strategy, building more housing and considering housing as health care.
John Abbott, the provincial minister of housing, said the plan serves as a significant piece of work that can move things forward. It's now up to his department to see what can be done as quickly as possible, he said.
"We know we have a significant housing challenge here, certainly when it comes to affordability. As a government, we're working on that. We know we got to do more, and the plan will help us map out some other initiatives that I think we can work on," he said.
Abbott said collaboration is happening between all government parties, and that both he and Premier Andrew Furey are committed to advancing housing developments and cutting down on homelessness.
The plan also calls on the province to, among other items, provide more support to people at key transition points in their lives — such as following incarceration or moving from a shelter back into the community — along with removing no-fault evictions and reviewing community funding.
End Homelessness St. John's has also asked the province to ensure income support programs are indexed to inflation. Abbott said government has committed to reviewing that on a larger scale, but the question of how it should be done in a way the province can afford is still being explored.
What the city can do
There are four recommendations outlined to the City of St. John's, centred around building more housing, supporting safe neighbourhoods and designating resources to building affordable housing.
Mayor Danny Breen said the city has taken steps to advance housing projects through the $10.6-million available through the federal housing accelerator fund.
"It's funding the implementation of electronic permitting. It's funding incentive programs for building basement apartments, for encouraging other suites in houses. So it's encouraging the construction of houses," he said.
The plan also suggested that houses aren't being built fast enough, estimating the city will need to add anywhere between 6,000 and 12,000 units between now and 2033 to ensure demand is met.
Breen said the speed of development is an issue, but the city is doing what it can to make things faster.
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With files from Darrell Roberts and Olivia Garrett