Helping our most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic

Whitby, Ontario –Over the past few months, the Region of Durham has been working with the Durham Advisory Committee on Homelessness (DACH), other levels of government and community partners to ensure our unsheltered residents have the support they need during this unprecedented time of community crisis.

The Region continues to be committed to finding permanent housing for all residents in Durham and ending homelessness in the community.

The Region has identified efforts that have been instrumental to ensuring responsive actions for meeting the immediate needs of our vulnerable population. The commitment from community partners, municipal governments and local businesses has provided tremendous community strength for the unsheltered residents, including:

• The COVID-19 Homelessness Response Network was brought together in April to identify, prioritize and respond to urgent organizational and community needs in response to COVID-19. The network oversees the COVID-19 Unsheltered Residents Response, which was implemented to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and support unsheltered residents throughout Durham Region.
• The In/Out of the Crisis (IOTC) Program at Camp Samac continues to support physical distancing measures while helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among unsheltered individuals. Mental health and addictions support, financial assistance, medical care and other programs are provided on-site in the IOTC Program to all participants. On-site assistance and outreach are working with IOTC participants on co-ordinating supports in the community and securing housing. To date, more than 70 individuals have participated in the IOTC Program.
• The Durham Region Isolation and Recovery Program (DRIP) provides safe and supportive spaces through a hotel partnership for homeless residents who need to practice self-isolation. Co-ordinated supports and medical assistance is provided at the DRIP location for those showing symptoms of Covid-19 and/or needing to self-isolate.
• Support hub models at the Ajax Community Centre and the Backdoor Mission Oshawa Hub are helping to meet the needs of the unsheltered community during the pandemic. Services provided at these locations include food, clothing, washroom/shower facilities, medical services, mental health and financial assistance. These centralized hubs also allow for a surveillance testing location and outreach for co-ordinating housing, mental health and addictions services.
• With municipal support and co-ordinated efforts, Hygiene Centres were set up to allow for washroom/shower facilities for unsheltered residents during the closure of businesses across Durham Region.
• All shelter settings in Durham Region participated in surveillance testing conducted by Region of Durham Paramedic Services, a proactive measure to detect asymptomatic cases of COVID-19. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in any of our shelter clients through this surveillance testing. The extra measures put in place by our shelter providers have helped to keep their clients and staff safe. The Region is also leading the recovery planning with shelter operators to look at how clients can best be supported moving forward.
• The Primary Care Outreach Program (PCOP) was established through a partnership with Region of Durham Paramedic Services and the Social Services Department in 2018. The program consists of an Advanced Care Paramedic and Social Worker providing medical, outreach and service navigation services to help support unsheltered residents within the Region of Durham. PCOP has continued outreach throughout the pandemic, helping to connect unsheltered residents to needed medical services and supports.

In At Home in Durham, the Durham Housing Plan 2014-2024, the Region has a goal of ending homelessness in Durham by 2024. With this goal in mind, the Region is taking a housing-focused approach in many of its initiatives.

• The Region has implemented three new Housing First Pilot Programs including Durham’s first Housing First Program in North Durham. Two of these new programs target youth homelessness. In total, these programs will provide 30 new supportive housing opportunities. The Region has also expanded a scattered-site transitional housing program that is expected to provide housing outcomes to more than 50 homeless residents within the next year.
• The homeless shelters in Durham Region are participating in the Canadian Shelter Transformation Network (CSTN) through the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness (CAEH) to become fully housing-focused, meaning all shelter programming is related to obtaining permanent housing. The Region continues to work with shelter providers to try and prevent homelessness, thereby reducing the number of shelter beds needed in our community.
• As part of the Region’s participation on the Built for Zero Canada campaign, we officially launched our By-Name List on June 15. The By-Name List is a real-time, up-to-date list of all people known to be experiencing homelessness in our community. Our community has been recognized by Built for Zero as being action-oriented and housing-focused during the pandemic, based on the progress made to date.
• The Youth By-Name List consisted of 37 youth experiencing homelessness. As of July 1, youth supports in Durham Region have been able to house 15 of these 37 youth.
• The Region has also started to roll out Durham’s Co-ordinated Access System that streamlines the process to access housing opportunities and supports within the homelessness support system by standardizing the intake, assessment and referral processes across Durham. Durham’s Co-ordinated Access System uses the By-Name List to prioritize those in most need for housing opportunities.

The Region of Durham continues to work with area municipalities and community partners to implement new and innovative initiatives to secure more permanent housing options and end homelessness in Durham.

Quote

“Since the pandemic emerged in March, I am pleased to report that over 50 unsheltered Durham residents have been housed. This is a huge accomplishment. While we continue to work to address the current needs of this vulnerable population during the COVID-19 crisis, as a community we are really committed to our goal of ending chronic homelessness in Durham. The best protection we can provide from COVID-19 is a home.”

- Regional Chair and CEO John Henry

Quick Facts

• Last year, the Region of Durham joined other communities in the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness Built for Zero Canada campaign—a nation-wide effort that helps leading communities end chronic homelessness. Through the collection of real-time data, the Region and its service providers can better address homelessness in Durham.
• Implementing a Co-ordinated Access System is a requirement of the federal government under Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. A Co-ordinated Access System is a community-wide system that streamlines the process for people experiencing homelessness to access housing and supports.
• Under the federal government’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, the Housing First approach involves moving people experiencing homelessness —particularly people experiencing chronic homelessness—rapidly from the street or emergency shelters into stable and long-term housing, with supports.

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For more information, contact Corporate Communications.