City receives 2018 Homelessness Registry Final Report

By Lindsay Advocate

The results of this year’s Homelessness Enumeration Report for the City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton were presented to City Council recently.

The goal of Registry Week was to identify people experienciang homelessness in our communities and gather information on their health and social needs. More than 40 volunteers and professional staff surveyed people without permanent homes between May 28 to June 1 at agencies, food banks, libraries, and parks across the City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton. The data collected will allow the City and County to prioritize housing the most vulnerable individuals and families in the community.

“We will use the results collected from the campaign and work with community partners to prioritize actions and ensure a coordinated response to support the most vulnerable individuals and families in our community,” says Hope Lee, housing manager. “The City of Kawartha Lakes and County of Haliburton thank those who completed a survey during Registry Week, for sharing their experiences and contributing to our efforts to end homelessness in our communities.”

Highlights of the 2018 Registry Week Report:

*   75 households self-identified as experiencing homelessness
*   Youth accounted for 21% of all respondents (6 in the City and 10 in the County)
*   Adults accounted for 59% of all respondents (35 in the City and 9 in the County)
*   Families represented 20% of all respondents (5 in the City and 10 in the County)
*   Average length of time without permanent housing is 1.5 years and families is 3 years
*   13 households reported being without permanent housing for more than 2 years
*   The most common barriers survey respondents identified are keeping them from securing permanent housing is lack of affordable housing or low income
*   23% increase in acuity (depth of need) amongst individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the City and the County when compared to the 2016 results
*   Cost of interactions with an emergency room, ambulance rides to the hospital and hospitalizations for the last six months estimated at $431,598
*   Frequent users of the healthcare system attributed to 57% of that total cost accounting for $244,842

The 20K Homes Campaign is a national movement focused on ending chronic homelessness in 20 communities and housing 20,000 of Canada’s most vulnerable homeless people by July 2020. CKLH has recommitted to participate in the 20,000 Homes Campaign, learning from other communities who are also committed to ending homelessness. Homelessness is defined as being either completely unsheltered, living in emergency shelter, or provisionally accommodated without permanent tenancy.

The new 24 one-bedroom affordable housing units located within the building at 68 Lindsay Street North will be dedicated to housing individuals who are experiencing homelessness. The 24 units are scheduled to be available for occupancy in early 2019.

Since the first Registry Week in 2016, more than 60 of the most vulnerable homeless individuals in the community have been housed, far above the City’s and County’s original commitment of 24 individuals.

Staff from the City of Kawartha Lakes will be presenting the 2018 Registry Week Final Report to County Council at the September 26 Council Meeting. For more information, read the Registry Week 2018 Final Report on the City’s website.

1 Comment

  1. Karla Forgaard-pullen says:

    There is a place for 2 bedroom homes that rarely seems to be addressed in social housing plans. Adult siblings and adult children with a parent present as homeless too. One of the two will have significant disability, sometimes both are affected. They cost more to house separately and will cost the system more in health care because they cannot provide the support one needs. They are not eligible for family housing as neither is a child. These families are extremely marginalized. These families are actually extremely stable when housing is affordable. This has been a planning gap for 50 years and still persists.

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