Homelessness is a complex issue that impacts all of us. The Regional Municipality of York, in its role as the Service System Manager for homelessness programs since 1998, has supported/undertaken a series of initiatives to understand and tackle the issue of homelessness in cooperation with service providers and other stakeholders. The initiatives and reports generated include Out in the Cold: A Report on Outreach to the Homeless in York Region, Crosslinks Housing and Support Services (1999), From Awareness to Action (2000) by the York Region Homeless Task Force, the Community Plan to Address Homelessness (2001, updated 2003 & 2008), Preventing Homelessness in York Region: Taking the Next Steps (2004), New Vision and Related Operational Reforms to York Region’s Emergency Shelter and Homelessness Prevention Services, (Report to York Regional Council, 2012), and more recently the Make Rental Happen initiative of the York Region Human Services Planning Board and Housing Solutions: A place for everyone – York Region 10 Year Housing Plan (June 2014).
At the grassroots level, between 1999 and 2011, the York Region Alliance to End Homelessness (YRAEH), a coalition of community-based organizations, engaged in building capacity of the homelessness sector and improving local response to the issue of homelessness through research, public education, advocacy and facilitating partnerships/collaborations. Hidden From Sight: Women’s Shelter Needs Assessment (2007), Hidden in Plain Sight: Living Homeless in York Region Photovoice Project (2008), Needs Assessment: Transportation Access of the Homeless and Under-housed in York Region (2008) and Needs Assessment: Health and Access among Homeless and At-Risk People in York Region (2010) are some examples of major research projects of the Alliance.