Baseline Consumer Narratives of Lived Experience of the Mental Health Commission of Canada’s At Home/Chez Soi Project: Toronto Report

The ‘At Home/Chez Soi’ Research Demonstration Project (henceforth referred to as “the Project”) is a health intervention that explores a ‘Housing First’ approach to improving the lives of clients who experience both homelessness and serious mental health problems.1 ‘Housing First’ is a promising service model that has been increasingly implemented in North America, in which individuals experiencing homelessness and severe mental health problems are provided with housing free of prerequisites for sobriety and treatment, and given flexible access to supportive health and social services. The Project is funded by the Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) and builds on existing evidence and knowledge in the field, and applies it to the Canadian context. The Project is occurring in five cities across Canada: Moncton, Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Each of these sites has a specific target population or sub‐study; these are: rural and francophone; social housing; ethnoracial; Aboriginal; and homeless people with concurrent disorders. The project aims to develop evidence on effective services and interventions for homeless people with mental health problems, and will help inform policy and programming to end homelessness in Canada. In Toronto, a total of 581 participants have been enrolled in the study. One hundred (100) participants have been randomized to an intervention designed for those with high service needs, 104 have been randomized to a moderate needs intervention, 102 are participating in an ethnoracial intervention arm, and 275 have been randomized to a ‘care as usual’ arm.

‘At Home/Chez Soi’ Project Baseline Consumer Narrative Report
Key Messages
Executive Summary

Publication Date: 
2012
Location: 
Toronto, ON, Canada