Question Period Note: VETERAN HOMELESSNESS

• Veteran homelessness in Canada is unacceptable; Veterans deserve a safe and affordable place to live. One homeless Veteran is one too many.

• We are taking a whole-of-government approach to addressing Veteran homelessness in Canada. VAC is working closely with Infrastructure Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on initiatives under the National Housing Strategy.

• VAC programs like the Veterans Emergency Fund and Veteran and Family Well-being Fund also provide key supports to homeless and at-risk Veterans.

• Building on Budget 2021, Budget 2022 announced an additional $62.2 million over three years, beginning in 2024-25, for Infrastructure Canada to launch a new Veteran Homelessness Program in partnership with VAC and community organizations. This program will provide services and rent supplements to Veterans experiencing homelessness to help them get them back on their feet.

BACKGROUND – HOMELESS VETERANS

How many homeless Veterans are there?
Accurately measuring the number of Veterans experiencing homelessness is challenging. According to Employment and Social Development Canada’s 2016 National Shelter Study, 1.8% of shelter users (est. 2400 individuals) reported having served in the military. In the 2018 Point-in-Time count, 4.4% of respondents identified as Veterans. (COVID-19 delayed additional Point-in-Time counts, but they resumed in 2021 – new data is not yet available).

Veterans Affairs Canada’s Approach to Homelessness
The Department works with local community partners to: identify homeless and in-crisis Veterans, find suitable housing, and make connections to other Veterans Affairs Canada programs and services. All Veterans Affairs Canada Area Offices have a Point-of-Contact identified to work with homeless Veterans and local organizations. VAC also collaborates with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Infrastructure Canada to address Veteran’s housing needs and homelessness.

Since 2018, Veterans Affairs Canada has implemented:
• Veterans Organization Emergency Support Fund - $20 million one-time emergency funding for Veterans organizations to offset the effects of COVID-19. This included support for organizations that assist homeless Veterans.
• Veterans and Family Well-Being Fund - Funded twenty-three projects (23) dedicated to supporting homeless or in crisis Veterans. This is more than 22% of all projects funded.
• Veterans Emergency Fund (VEF) - Provides emergency financial support to Veterans, their families and survivors at risk due to an urgent and unexpected situation.

Government Commitments
The Government is taking concrete actions on the issue of Veteran homelessness, and has committed to:
• Being “…focused on entirely eliminating chronic homelessness in Canada.” (2020 Speech from the Throne).
• Budget 2021 announced $46.6 million for a pilot program aimed at reducing Veteran homelessness. To ensure that long-term support is in place, the government now intends to move directly to the launch of a targeted program.
• Budget 2022 announced $62.2 million over three years, beginning in 2024-25, for Infrastructure Canada, with support from Veterans Affairs Canada and in partnership with community organizations, to launch a new Veteran Homelessness Program that will provide services and rent supplements to Veterans experiencing homelessness.

WHEN PRESSED:

Q1 – What other federal partners and community organizations is VAC working with to support Veterans at risk of or who are homeless?

In addition to Budgets 2021 and 2022, Veterans Affairs Canada is working with other federal partners (e.g. Infrastructure Canada, Canadian Armed Forces) and community organizations to support Veterans at risk of homelessness or who are homeless. These include:
• Veterans Housing: The Andy Carswell Building received over $6.5 million through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund to build a 40-unit facility that now provides affordable, supportive housing for homeless Veterans in Ottawa.
• Through the Affordable Housing Innovation Fund, $1 million was provided to the Edmonton Veterans’ Village, to establish a 20-unit tiny home village for Veterans.
• Since 2018, Veterans Affairs Canada has funded 23 initiatives amounting to $8.5 million through the Veteran Family and Well-being Fund related to Veterans housing and homelessness. These initiatives include funding for Homes for Heroes Veterans’ Villages in Halifax, Winnipeg and Calgary to support services such as counselling, helping Veterans achieve personal goals, and addressing individual needs to help Veterans successfully live independently in the long-term.

Q2 – How will the Department address the needs of diverse populations within the Homeless Veteran group?

VAC is committed to providing programming based on unique needs identified through GBA Plus, and a focus on data collection and outreach, in collaboration with stakeholders.
GBA Plus analysis has found there is a serious lack of data available on diverse groups of Veterans experiencing homelessness.
There has been research around Women Veterans that suggests women who have served in the military may be less likely to self-identify as Veterans or seek supports. The research also suggests that women have a greater risk of being marginalized through hidden homelessness, intimate partner violence, childcare responsibilities and poverty, which can further complicate their ability to secure safe, affordable and appropriate housing.
Research indicates that 30 % of homeless Veterans are Indigenous and they will require culturally appropriate services to meet their needs
A portion of the funding provided for the VHP will be dedicated to research projects of national interest that address the needs of diverse subgroups of homeless Veterans.
As we move forward in developing the Veterans Homelessness Program and other supports, we will aim to meet the diverse needs of the population through wrap-around services. For example, flexibility in types of housing eligible for rent supplements. Women and gender diverse Veterans, particularly those with children, have different housing needs than single individuals.
Q3 - What is Veterans Affairs Canada doing in response to the First Report of the Standing Committee on Veterans Affairs, Moving Towards Ending Homelessness Among Veterans?

On June 16, 2022, the Government Response to the Standing Committee’s report was tabled. The Government appreciates the report and the input from witnesses who appeared before Committee.
The Government agrees with the Committee that homelessness is a complex issues for which the solution requires numerous, coordinated interventions.
The Committee’s main recommendation is that “It should be possible to implement a program that eliminates Veterans’ homelessness.” Veterans Affairs Canada is developing a strategy to address Veteran homelessness that will guide departmental activities to ensure an effective focus on reduction and prevention of homelessness among Veterans with a goal to eliminate it to the extent possible. The Committee’s recommendation is consistent with Budget 2021 and Budget 2022 commitments to develop a Veteran Homelessness Program that will be an important pillar in the elimination of homelessness among Veterans. Veterans Affairs Canada is working with Infrastructure Canada to launch a new Veteran Homelessness Program. This program will provide services and rent supplements to Veterans experiencing homelessness to help them get them back on their feet.
The Government is advancing initiatives supporting most of the Committee’s recommendations and continues to engage key partners at the federal level, and in provinces, territories and communities to continue to improve the measures and services for Veterans experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, homelessness.