Supporting Partnerships Between Health and Homelessess

Supporting Partnerships Between Health and Homelessness – Research shows that persons experiencing homelessness have a disproportionate amount of acute and chronic illness when compared to the general population, and encounter systemic barriers that may preclude them from seeking care and maintaining treatment adherence. Such complex health needs may act as a barrier to securing stable and sufficient shelter/housing, which can lead to a ‘revolving door’ of hospital admissions.

Sheltering Homeless Seniors - March 2016

This report provides recommendations from existing shelter operations that support seniors accessing shelter services. Recommendations for shelters serving seniors fall into three categories: design, operations and staffing considerations and are informed by the provision of choice, self-determination and the experience of safety and support in moving forward.

Health Supports for Shelters Serving Seniors - March 2016

As the number of older adults facing homelessness continues to grow, shelters commonly identify that seniors’ health needs create issues that dramatically impact their capacity to provide service. This needs assessment was conducted to clearly identify the physical health issues that most impact a shelter’s capacity to serve a senior and what types of support may be beneficial.

Housing First Considerations for Seniors - February 2016

There has been much practice and research demonstrating the effectiveness of Housing First targeted to the general homeless population. While this is important in establishing the benefits and impacts of the program, sub populations such as seniors have specific needs. Research indicates that changes associated with aging, combined with homelessness create a unique situation for seniors. This report informs adaptations for Housing First service delivery based on insights from interviews conducted with homeless seniors and shelter staff about their experiences with homelessness and needs in housing. Recommendations were developed to inform how Housing First service delivery may need to be modified to ensure that seniors needs are met under this operating paradigm.

Housing for Vulnerable Seniors - July 2015

The CoP developed a Housing Framework to guide the development of housing for seniors who have experienced homelessness with seven Preferred Practices for Housing Sites. To further strengthen the framework recommendations, a series of interviews were conducted with seniors experiencing homelessness. Seniors were asked about their accommodation needs as well as the factors that are associated with the ability to maintain housing. This report outlines these enhancements and makes a call for action to those involved in the creation of housing for vulnerable seniors.

Serving Homeless Seniors: Tools and Checklists - November 2014

Between December 2014 and January 2015 the Homeless Seniors Community of Practice conducted a series of surveys with seniors and staff in shelters. The focus of these surveys was to understand how to better serve vulnerable seniors in a residential setting (both housing and shelters). This toolkit was developed through research and consultation as a reference guide for staff seeking to improve services that support seniors.​

Towards Aging In Place – Summary Report & Full Report

A review of existing literature was conducted to inform discussions about best practices for sheltering homeless seniors and moving them towards appropriate housing. This review follows the common themes presented in the readings, which break down the issues of homeless seniors in the following contexts: challenges and characteristics of homeless seniors; physical and mental health issues; and best practices.​

Evaluating the Housing First Approach in Metro Vancouver

In March of 2017 GVSS, now HSABC partnered with the SFU Gerontology Research Centre to evaluate Housing First delivery in Metro Vancouver. This report presents findings from a literature review on best practices in Housing First, followed by a report on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the delivery of Housing First in Metro Vancouver based on interviews and focus groups with stakeholders. Consultation with HPS-funded Housing First projects and other Housing First providers in the region support the highlighted recommendations to enhance Housing First delivery in Metro Vancouver.​

Landlord Engagement Recommendations

Across Canada there is a growing emphasis on providing access to housing for those experiencing homelessness as soon as suitable accommodation can be found. Integral to finding suitable accommodation is engaging landlords who are willing to rent to people who are experiencing homelessness. As a result, many efforts have been undertaken to understand how to engage landlords and in supporting tenants and landlords throughout the tenancy. This report synthesizes findings from a number of key works and projects that outline best practices for landlord engagement and eviction prevention from across the globe.​

Examples of landlord engagement tools:

• Draft Landlord Introduction Letter(Word format)
• Draft Program Pamphlet (Word format)
• Draft Program Pamphlet (Publisher format)

Mapping Metro Vancouver to Support Housing First Implementation

Housing First is a paradigm experiencing great impact and recognition across Canada. While it is recognized that sufficient access to support resources is essential for successful Housing First delivery, there is no formal documentation to describe and understand resource differences between and within communities in Metro Vancouver. Between March and June 2016, GVSS, now HSABC partnered with SFU Gerontology Research Centre and bc211 to conduct 13 community mapping workshops to gain a better understanding of varying levels of access to these types of support services. This report compiles findings from this research to help organizations understand how the service system functions in their specific communities and inform the implementation of a systems approach to delivering Housing First across Metro Vancouver.​

GVSS Membership Response to Housing First

Housing First executed well is nuanced by the circumstances and environment within which it is delivered, tailored to meet the needs of its intended service population, and operates within a system of interventions. This report seeks to inform on some of the nuances of the homelessness context within Metro Vancouver to encourage a Housing First implementation that considers unique operating circumstances.​​

Implementation Tools

This report outlines tools developed to support organizations in implementing Housing First programs, particularly in Metro Vancouver. Resources developed provide an overview of the key components of a case management approach from a Housing First perspective, prioritization tools to identify client eligibility, and the HIFIS tools related to specific data entry and reporting requirements of the Housing First funding provided under the Homelessness Partnering Strategy (HPS).​​​