Calgary Homeless Foundation's plan needs $290M to end homelessness
The foundation says ending homelessness actually saves the government money, in reducing system costs
Seven years ago, the Calgary Homeless Foundation launched a 10-year plan to end homelessness in the city.
With three years left to go, the foundation released an updated plan that identified three key targets to achieve by 2018 on Tuesday.
The plan includes:
- House 100 per cent of people experiencing chronic and episodic homelessness — 3,200 people.
- Stabilize 35 per cent of households at-risk or experiencing transitional homelessness - 9,400 households.
- Reduce the average length of stay in singles emergency shelters to 10 a day and 14 days for family shelters — reductions of about 60 per cent.
The foundation says it will take community team work and a lot of money to reach their final goal.
Diana Krecsy, president and CEO of the Calgary Homeless Foundation says the 10-year plan is working and has already helped to get thousands of people off the streets. But helping the rest will take an additional $290 million from 2015 to 2018 to make the goal a reality, she said.
"What we do is actually saving the government money, so we're actually the solution to their economic problem," she said.
"Invest in homelessness and ending it, and we actually decrease the cost of health care, the justice system and other systems."
The City of Medicine Hat has a goal to be the first city in Canada to end homelessness. See how the goal is progressing in the video below.
