Reaching Home program information

Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy was launched in April 2019 and supports the goals of Solving the Housing Crisis: Canada's Housing Plan and the National Housing Strategy – to support the needs of the most vulnerable Canadians; to improve access to safe, stable and affordable housing. This includes supporting the reduction of chronic homelessness.

This federal homelessness program provides funding directly to communities to help them address local priorities using a systems-based and data-driven approach. This approach was adopted in recognition that preventing and reducing homelessness requires not only access to safe and adequate housing, but also a high degree of coordination across funders and community organizations, as well as meaningful collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners.

Program features

A community-based approach

Federal funding is delivered to communities, primarily through the Community Entity model. The local Community Entity is normally an incorporated organization (e.g., municipal government or an established not-for-profit organization) and is responsible for the selection, approval and management of projects that support the implementation of a local community plan. Community Entities are supported by local Advisory Boards that help set direction for addressing homelessness in the community or region.

Coordinated Access

Coordinated Access brings consistency to the way that people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness access housing and related services within a geographic area. Using a Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) such as the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS) supports this work by enabling more seamless data management across a community.

Communities receiving funding from the Designated Communities or the Territorial Homelessness stream of Reaching Home are required to submit an annual Report each year. The report is designed to support local discussions and decision making, and helps communities self-assess their progress with implementing Coordinated Access and an HMIS.

Outcomes-based approach

Reaching Home encourages an outcomes-based approach, in which communities work with local organizations and service providers to achieve community-level outcomes and report on homelessness reduction targets. The adoption of the outcomes based approach is a requirement for the Designated Community stream communities and the Territorial capitals.

Increasing the understanding of homelessness

Reaching Home continues to support efforts to increase the understanding of homelessness in Canada and to ensure that communities have the information and tools they need to prevent and reduce homelessness. Available reports include analyses of shelter capacity and shelter use data, as well as the nationally-coordinated Point-in-Time Counts.

The Government of Canada supports coordinated homeless counts and surveys in communities across Canada. Communities use a common Point-in-Time Count approach, which was developed in consultation with communities that have experience using this method.

When communities conduct counts and surveys at the same time of year using a common approach, the results are used to build a better understanding of homelessness in Canada. Everyone Counts - Standards for participation describes how to take part in the coordinated Point-in-Time Count.

Housing First

Under Reaching Home, the Housing First approach is supported as a proven approach to tackling homelessness, including chronic homelessness, which remains an important priority. As of April 1, 2019, all mandatory Housing First investment targets that were under the previous federal homelessness program have been removed. This gives communities more flexibility in how they use the Housing First approach for populations beyond those experiencing chronic homelessness and to use other innovative approaches to address local needs.

Delivery of Reaching Home in Quebec

In Quebec, Reaching Home is mainly implemented through a Canada–Quebec Agreement that respects the jurisdictions and priorities of both governments in the prevention and reduction of homelessness.

A Joint Management Committee, composed of representatives from the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec serves as the official forum for strategic decision-making and discussions regarding the implementation of Reaching Home and homelessness.

Reaching Home program initiatives

Action Research on Chronic Homelessness

In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada announced $18.1 million towards action research over three years to identify and test innovative solutions to overcome barriers to addressing chronic homelessness within a community.

The Action Research on Chronic Homelessness (ARCH) initiative supports the Government's commitment to end chronic homelessness while respecting communities' expertise in identifying and testing approaches that are aligned with their specific local priorities. The research projects involve collaboration across sectors and governments to explore solutions through an action research approach, allowing communities to adjust course throughout the projects through iterative cycles of learning.

Findings from the research complement and align ongoing community efforts and facilitate collaboration between a variety of partners to address chronic homelessness. They are also helping communities identify ways to overcome significant barriers to preventing and reducing chronic homelessness at the local level, and share findings and lessons learned broadly with other communities.

For more information on the Action Research on Chronic Homelessness Initiative, please read the backgrounder.