The Ontario government is investing more than $200 million annually in an effort to prevent homelessness across the province.
The provincial government provided further details of the investment on Tuesday, which was initially announced as part of the 2023 budget.
The $202 million in additional funding will support homelessness prevention programs and community organizations delivering supportive housing, and will be provided through the Homelessness Prevention Program and Indigenous Supportive Housing Program.
“We know Ontario’s housing supply crisis impacts all Ontarians, no matter their background or budget,” said Steve Clark, the minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, in a news release. “That’s why we’ve increased funding for our homelessness prevention programs by more than 40 per cent. These measures complement the bold and transformational change we are implementing to tackle the housing supply crisis and get more homes built faster across Ontario.”
The province said the investment will give Ontario’s 47 service managers greater flexibility to allocate funding and make better use of existing resources to focus on reducing and preventing homelessness.
The funding will also provide culturally appropriate long-term housing solutions and support services to Indigenous people experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
