Program aimed at preventing homelessness on P.E.I. ends due to lack of provincial funding
John Howard Society says it needs $300,000 to continue the pilot project
The John Howard Society of Prince Edward Island says it's halting a provincially funded pilot project that helps keep people from becoming homeless.
The group says the demand for housing is outpacing the amount of money the P.E.I. government is willing to spend on the the program, called the Prevention and Diversion Fund (PDF).
Last year, the provincial government gave $150,000 to the PDF, while the fund also received $240,000 from the federal government. This year, though, the province is only providing $100,000.
The fund provides things like damage deposits and first months' rent to help people secure accommodations.
Conor Mullin, president of the John Howard Society of P.E.I., said 376 families were diverted from homelessness over the course of the program. But given the increased demand, he said $100,000 from the province would not be enough to sustain the PDF.
"It would have required us to restrict the eligibility criteria to such a point that the program would no longer have been fulfilling the original purpose," he said.
"Unfortunately we had to make the difficult decision to close down the program until such time as we're able to negotiate further funding from the province."
Mullin said the program would need $300,000 to keep up with the demand.
'I don't think that is a big ask'
A spokesperson for the province said in a statement that it has not reduced its contribution to the fund, and that the "current concern raised by the organization stems from the loss of other revenue sources, and they have requested that the province increase its funding to offset those external shortfalls."
The statement added that the provincial government provided the John Howard Society with an additional $50,000 last year, and also asked for a review of the program to ensure clients were using the service appropriately.
"Upon review, it was noted that over 40% of clients to the PDF were on Social Assistance and would have been eligible for funding through existing avenues available to them," the statement reads.
"We remain open to dialogue and have offered to work with the John Howard Society as they find additional funding sources."
I've seen the government spend more on less important subject matters.— Elysha Whitlock, The Village Summerside
The society's pilot project ended in March. Since then, other organizations have stepped in with donations to help with some costs previously funded by the program.
Elysha Whitlock, executive director of The Village Summerside, said the organization has helped six families with damage deposits since the PDF pilot ended.
"We've had to resort to doing quite a bit of fundraising in the past few months… since they have lost their funding," she said.
"We do not... receive any sort of government funding. We are literally a group of volunteers who rely on fundraising withing the community."
Whitlock said she doesn't think the $300,000 price tag is too much to ask of the province, considering how many people the program has helped.
"I know full and well, personally how much the John Howard Society has helped and the high volume that they have helped. I don't think that is a big ask, to ask for that number," she said.
"I've seen the government spend more on less important subject matters."
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With files from Tony Davis