Immediate action being taken to address homelessness in York Region
Homelessness is a serious and growing issue in York Region and across the country. To address the immediate and long-term needs of people experiencing or at risk of homelessness, York Region Council approved the 2024 to 2027 Homelessness Service System Plan (The Plan).
The Plan outlines goals and priority areas that aim to improve, enhance and align homelessness services and supports including homelessness prevention, intervention, housing stability and strengthening a coordinated system response with community partners.
The Plan aims to end chronic homelessness in the Region by prioritizing prevention to keep people from losing their homes, supporting people to obtain stable housing and investing in housing retention and wraparound support services to ensure people remain housed. It also works to strengthen the Region’s human rights-based approach to addressing homelessness by working with partners to deliver supports and services reflecting the personal rights and dignity of the people that need them.
Rapid deployment actions, that accompanied the Plan, beginning in 2024 will support individuals at risk of or experiencing homelessness, including:
- Adding 139 new beds in existing emergency and transitional housing, and in hotel and seasonal shelters
- Adding staff to the Community Paramedicine and Outreach Response Team
- Adding outreach workers to support clients living unsheltered or in encampments
- Helping more people experiencing chronic homelessness
The Plan was informed by research, analysis of approaches used by other jurisdictions and engagement, including key informant interviews with members of Council, sector organizations, service providers and people with lived experiences.
Facts about homelessness in York Region:
- The number of people identified on the By-Name List, a real-time list of people experiencing homelessness and accessing services in York Region, increased from 1,395 in 2019 to 1,784 in 2023
- Between 2019 and 2023, the number of people experiencing homelessness for longer than six months in the past year, increased from 124 to 473
- In 2023, the York Region Outreach Services encampment team visited a total of 204 encampment locations, up from 62 in 2021
- York Region’s 183 emergency beds and 66 transitional housing beds are regularly at or near capacity
More information about services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness in York Region can be found at york.ca/housing
