Medicine Hat lends advice to cities tackling homelessness
The most an individual in the community housing would be expected to pay in rent is 30% of their income
Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston is in Vancouver this week, lending some advice to a city council that wants to follow in the footsteps of the Alberta city and put an end to homelessness.
How you ask has Medicine Hat solved homelessness?
"Well, pretty simple. We gave them a home," Clugston told CBC's Information Radio.
Over six years, the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society has housed 875 people with about 250 of those being children.
To be clear, Clugston points out that it wasn't for a lack of problem to begin with. In 2008-2009 Medicine Hat had 1,147 people use emergency shelters.
Their strategy has been a "housing first" approach.
Housing first
"No matter what the situation is if it's mental health, if it's addiction, are you escaping domestic violence? It doesn't matter, you get a house, you get a roof over your head. And then, right away, part of the intake process is questions like why are you homeless? What caused this? And then wrap-around services are brought in right away. Whatever you need," Clugston said.
The city started by building about 50 town houses each year at a cost hovering around $10 million per year, before slowing down. In six years, 150 homes have been built on city-owned property.
The housing society also works with private landlords to house the remaining people. Clugston said that central intake is key for their operation.
Clugston explained that about two thirds of the money comes from provincial coffers, while the other third is paid for by the municipal government.
The program provides some housing free of charge, while other units are low-income housing, it is determined on a case-by-case basis. The most that anyone living in the housing will be expected to pay in rent is 30 per cent of whatever income they have.
Finding hope in success
"Some people never get out, it's chronic but there are people who do move on, there are those success stories," Clugston said.
Originally Clugston worried about trumpeting their success in ending homelessness, for fear that a mass migration of transient people would take place – but his worries never came to fruition.
"I was very concerned," he said. "I almost considered stopping talking about this issue because the national reach was incredible about a year ago. But it never happened."