The community of Fredericton is working to drastically change the way we collectively respond to homelessness through the implementation of a multiyear Plan to End Homelessness developed through collective planning by non-profits, different orders of government and community members.
The $10 million Plan, The Road Home, will work to house and support 267 chronic and episodically homeless and stabilize 1,033 households at risk of or experiencing transitional homeless. Moving from merely managing homelessness through emergency service to adopting a community wide strategy will create $3.2 million in savings in the first four years.
The Road Home is grounded in Housing First: an evidence-based model that focuses on quickly moving people experiencing homelessness into independent and permanent housing and then providing additional supports and services as needed. This model rejects 'housing readiness' approaches that have far too often left our most vulnerable trapped in a long-term or inescapable cycle of homelessness.
Information SessionSaturday, 24 March 2018, 10:00 a.m.Cathedral Memorial HallwithMayor Mike O'Brien - City of FrederictonFaith McFarland - coordinator of Fredericton's community action group on homelessness
AUDIO Listen to an interview with Faith McFarland on 04 April 2017 about affordable housing
AUDIO Listen to an interview with Faith McFarland on 10 May 2017 about ending homelessness
VIDEO Portrait of a formerly homeless woman - Sandy Robb
VIDEO Housing First Initiative in Fredericton
Homeless Hub - Making Research Matter - Canada
Download or view the Plan
From the Plan ...
Our Plan sets forth a course of action that will result in significant shifts in our community’s collective approach to a widespread social challenge. We cannot promise that no one will ever experience homelessness again in our community: the root causes involved in housing instability are well beyond our capacity to redress in this Plan. Factors like poverty, the macro-economics of housing markets, public policy decisions, systemic discrimination experienced by groups including Aboriginal people, as well as the challenges of mental health and additions play critical roles in the dynamics of homelessness. These are structural and systemic factors that we must continue to address, though we cannot resolve them in the short-term. However, there is much we can do.
This Plan is a call to action, first and foremost. It sets out a roadmap that will lead to significant improvements for those experiencing homelessness in our community. It calls for the creation of new interventions, using the proven and cost-effective Housing First approach, to rapidly house and support those in need.
The Plan proposes the enhanced coordination of our homeless-serving system, and its intentional integration with other partners, including health, corrections, police, and child protection. It calls for enhanced information sharing, performance management processes and capacity building to support our frontline service providers. The Plan recognizes the key role all partners play in our collective
