Veteran Homelessness Program: Directives

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Directives
  • 1. Eligible participants
  • 2. Eligible activities
  • 3. Administration expenses
  • 4. Partnerships and coordination
  • 5. Geographic coverage
  • 6. Data collection and privacy
  • 7. Confirmation of Veteran service
  • 8. Official language minority communities
• Footnotes

Introduction

The purpose of the Veteran Homelessness Program (VHP) is to prevent and reduce Veteran homelessness in Canada. The program delivers contribution funding through two streams:

1. The Services and Support Stream focuses on the delivery of rent supplements and wrap-around services (such as counselling and treatment for substance use) to Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
2. The Capacity Building Stream focuses on research and improved data collection on Veteran homelessness, as well as increasing the capacity of organizations to deliver tailored initiatives to address the needs of Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.

The Directives provide details to Recipients on the Program's eligible activities and expenses. They also provide guidance on the administration of funds, including requirements related to confirmation of Veteran service, data collection and privacy, coordination and partnerships, and Official Language Minority Community requirements. Given that the program is designed to deliver services and supports to Veterans based on individual needs, the examples provided in this document are not exhaustive. Should you require further guidance determining eligibility for a certain type of activity and/or expense, please contact the Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada Engagement and Program Officer (EPO) assigned to the contribution agreement. You may also wish to consult the Homelessness Glossary for Communities.

Directives

1. Eligible participants

Under the Services and Supports Stream, eligible participants are former members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) (including Rangers and reservists) or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) who are experiencing or at imminent risk^{Footnote 1} of homelessness^{Footnote 2}. Please refer to Section 6 for additional guidance on how to obtain confirmation of Veteran service.

Eligible participants as described above will receive support from organizations (Recipients^{Footnote 3} and Sub-Agreement holders^{Footnote 4}) funded by the Veteran Homelessness Program.

Under the Capacity Building Stream, participants will reflect the objectives of each project.

2. Eligible activities

The eligible activities and expenses for the Veteran Homelessness Program are broadly defined in the program's terms and conditions. The information below is intended to help clarify and expand upon the information provided in the terms and conditions. Note that culturally appropriate activities for Indigenous Veterans that have similar objectives to the activities and expenses identified below are also eligible. Recipients are encouraged to consult with local Indigenous communities and/or Indigenous community organizations to identify and deliver culturally appropriate supports for Indigenous Veterans as described below.

2.1 Eligible activities under the Services and Supports Stream

The Services and Supports Stream focuses on the delivery of rent supplements and wrap-around services to Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.

Each of the activities described below must be supported through case management – a comprehensive and strategic form of service provision, either short- or long-term, whereby a case worker assesses the needs of individuals and, where appropriate, arranges, coordinates and advocates for delivery and access to a range of programs and services designed to meet individual needs.

The eligible activities and expenses under this Stream are grouped into six categories of activities:

Housing services

These services aim to help Veterans transition into stable and safe housing. Options may include transitional, supportive, Veteran-specific, and/or culturally-appropriate Indigenous housing.

Eligible activities include:

Housing attainment

• Helping Veterans transition into safe and appropriate housing, such as:
  • Transitional housing
  • Supportive housing (place-based and scattered-site)
  • Market rent housing (independent units and shared accommodations)
  • Indigenous-led housing options that reflect Indigenous values, beliefs and practices
• Determining needs and preferences for housing and supports for Veterans.
• Securing housing for Veterans by working with private and public local real estate, landlord associations, and home communities (e.g., First Nation band, Inuit community, and Métis settlement).
• Helping Veterans apply for housing and support services (e.g., working to get participants on waitlists).
• Providing more intensive housing search support (e.g., accompaniment to viewings).
• Providing landlord-tenant services for Veterans that have moved into housing. This includes, for example, mediation and problem-solving when a Veteran is first housed (e.g., within the first three months).
• Re-housing (if required).

Financial assistance

• Providing one-time or short-term financial assistance for housing related costs including, but not limited to:
  • Funding to help cover housing costs in the short term (up to a maximum of six months) while people wait for longer-term rental assistance including the VHP rent supplement, Canada Housing Benefit or benefits from provincial, territorial, or municipal programs or Veteran Affairs Canada benefits
  • Paying the cost of a maximum of one month of rent for a market rental unit to hold it for a Veteran exiting homelessness
  • Rental deposits eligible under applicable provincial or territorial legislation (e.g., last month’s rent or security deposits, where permitted)
  • utility bills (e.g., electricity, water, gas, internet)
  • deposits to set up utilities
  • tenant insurance
  • rental and utility arrears
• Providing a VHP Rent Supplement to eligible Veterans that meet the criteria described in the table below, to help bridge the gap between what the household can afford to pay (including a Veteran’s municipal, provincial and federal benefits) and actual rental costs.

Housing set-up

• Activities which cover costs associated with setting up a housing unit, including:
  • maintenance (e.g., painting)
  • moving costs
  • basic furniture and appliances at move-in
  • basic supplies at move-in (e.g., cookware, cleaning supplies)
  • basic groceries at move-in

Ineligible activities include:

• The provision of rent supplements that exceed 100% of the cost of the unit, including the amount of financial assistance provided by provincial, territorial, or municipal rent supplement programs.
• The provision of rent supplements for the purpose of hotel stays or other temporary accommodations.
• A Veteran cannot receive short-term financial assistance under the VHP for rent alongside a VHP rent supplement.
• Provision or payment for student housing for students who are not at imminent risk^{Footnote 1} of homelessness.
• Supports for low-income Veterans who are not experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
• The provision of incentive payments, or other items of monetary value, to rental owners and/or landlords to rent to a Veteran.
• The provision of down payments and mortgage payments to individuals for housing.
• The creation of a rent bank to provide loans.

Guidance: Rent supplements

Guiding principles

• Confirmation of Service by Veterans Affairs Canada must be obtained prior to administering a rent supplement. Reminder, organizations must use the VAC1746 Consent Form for the Service Confirmation request to be processed.
• Rent supplements may be used to assist a Veteran currently experiencing homelessness or at imminent risk of homelessness (i.e., they do not have the financial ability to maintain their housing in the next two weeks) in obtaining housing with security of tenure^{Footnote 5}. The provision of rent supplements should be geared towards Veterans and their households with the greatest need.
• Rent supplements may be provided directly to Veterans or landlords. Organizations are encouraged to provide rent supplements to Veterans directly, where appropriate, to promote flexibility in housing choice.
• Organizations are encouraged to maximize financial supports to Veterans based on all available programming.
  • That is, Veterans can access rent supplements and supports under this program as well as financial supports provided by other federal departments/programs (e.g., Veterans Affairs Canada [VAC], or provincial, territorial or municipal, or Indigenous programs).
  • While stacking of rent supplements is allowed under this Program, other rent supplement programs may not permit recipients to receive more than one benefit at a time, stacking limits must be respected.
  • It is up to organizations to take into account existing benefits and related parameters to consider the potential impact of providing a rent supplement under the VHP.
• Organizations should have a full understanding of the rental cost of a proposed accommodation and any other required supports (e.g., housing or utilities set-up, deposit for first and last month's rent), before providing a rental supplement. Veterans should have confirmation of their maximum available rent supplement before confirming rental accommodation with a tenancy agreement.
• Veterans must contribute 30% of their gross (pre-tax) monthly household income towards rent.
• Rent supplements should be determined and regularly assessed through individual case management, depending on the individual needs of Veterans, and until housing stability is achieved. Eligibility and value of the rent supplement must be re-assessed every time a new income source is established or a Veteran changes units, or otherwise on an annual basis.

Step by step process

Step 1: Determine eligibility:

• Veterans must have their Veteran status confirmed by VAC (former member of CAF or RCMP) and be experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness^{Footnote 1}. 
• Additionally, the Veteran's household gross (pre-tax) annual income must not exceed the annual total income for their household size (i.e. Veteran and number of dependents^{Footnote 6}) according to Statistics Canada's Low Income Measure Thresholds [See Total Income threshold for appropriate household size here: Low income measure (LIM) thresholds by income source and household size]
  • Gross (pre-tax) Annual Income is calculated by adding together income from employment or other sources including any social assistance benefits (i.e. shelter allowance) received.
  • Financial support received through Veterans Affairs Canada benefits and allowances that are non-taxable are not considered as part of the gross income for this program.
  • However, taxable financial support received through Veterans Affairs Canada paid monthly, such as the Income Replacement Benefit and the Education and Training Benefit, are included as part of the gross income for this program.
  • All program participants seeking a rent supplement will be required to sign an attestation to confirm their annual and monthly household income, that they are experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness, and attach any available supporting documents. Whenever possible, Veterans will provide documentation to support this attestation (e.g., their previous year's tax return, T4s, benefit statements).
  • Organizations may need to work with individuals to obtain supporting documents such as setting up and accessing a Canada Revenue Agency account. 
  • As a part of assessing income, organizations should help Veterans find any long-term sustainable income solutions that are not already being accessed (e.g., applying for social assistance, Veterans Affairs Canada benefits).

Step 2: Determine the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution to rent

• Veterans receiving a rent supplement must always contribute at least 30% of their gross household monthly income (including the VAC benefits listed above as income) towards their rent. 
• Using the gross annual (pre-tax) income established in step 1, determine the gross (pre-tax) monthly income by dividing annual (pre-tax) income by 12. The Veteran's minimum rental contribution is 30% of the gross (pre-tax) monthly household income.
• For Veterans with no income or only income from VAC non-taxable benefits, the minimum monthly contribution is zero until an income source is established, at which time the rent supplement should be recalculated.

Step 3: Determine the maximum household amount

• The maximum household amount is the lower of (1) the rent of the unit (if a unit has been identified for placement) or (2) the median market rent for the household size adjusted by 20%.
  • In the case where a unit is not yet known, organizations can use the adjusted median market rent as a guideline for the budget of a VHP rent supplement, but if the unit price is lower than adjusted median market rent, recalculate. 
  • Using the household size from the income eligibility assessment, identify the number of bedrooms necessary. 
  • Identify the Median Market Rent for the community based on the household size (i.e. one bedroom, two bedroom, etc.). The all-bedroom measure can be used where more generous.
  • Median rents are accessible at the CMHC's Housing Market Information Portal. If data is unavailable for a specific community, organizations can use the map feature to identify the closest community/ region for which data is available. (CMHC Housing Market Information Portal).
  • For Veterans with no income, the maximum household amount would the lesser of the median market rent adjusted by 20% or unit rent until such time a income, benefits, or a new unit is established.

Step 4: Determine the rent supplement amount

• The rent supplement is calculated by subtracting the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution (Step 2) to rent from the Veteran's maximum household amount (Step 3) available under the VHP.
• The rent supplement amount is determined by:
  • Rent Supplement = Maximum Household Amount [Lower of MMR x 1.2 or Unit Rent] minus the Minimum Contribution to Rent [30% of monthly gross household income]

Step 5: Monitor annually, or when income or unit changes

• Organizations are required to continuously uphold the VHP rent supplement eligibility criteria by re-assessing eligibility and rent supplement amounts for each Veteran every time a new income source is established or a Veteran changes units, or otherwise annually.  

Calculation Example 1:

• A Veteran at imminent risk of homelessness with one minor child in Toronto has a gross monthly household income of $3,000, and a monthly rent payment of $2,400.
• Step 1: Confirm Veteran's service with Veterans Affairs Canada. Determine if the annual gross household income is below the Low Income Measure threshold (total income). For two people, the threshold is $47,126 per year (2022 data). With a gross annual income of $36,000 per year, the Veteran qualifies.
• Step 2: Calculate the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution: 30% of 3,000= $900. Their minimum required contribution to rent is $900.
• Step 3: Determine the community's median rent, including relevant bedroom size, and multiply by 20%. In Toronto, the median market rent for a 2 bedroom unit is $1,900. The adjusted median market rent is $2,280. As the median market rent is less than the unit rent, $2,280 is the maximum household amount.
• Step 4: Subtract the minimum rent contribution ($900) from the maximum household amount ($2,280): $2,280 minus $900 is $1,380. The maximum allowable VHP rent supplement for this Veteran is $1,380.
• Step 5: Monitor annually, when income or unit changes.

Calculation Example 2:

• A Veteran experiencing homelessness with no dependents in Halifax receives income with $686 in social assistance and $1,007.19 from Veterans Affairs Canada Disability Pension. The Veteran has identified a potential apartment with a monthly rent payment of $850. For the purpose of the Veteran Homelessness Program rent supplement, the gross monthly household income is $686.
• Step 1: Confirm Veteran's service with Veterans Affairs Canada. Determine if annual gross household income is below the Low Income Measure threshold (total income). For one person, the gross annual household income must not exceed $33,323 per year (2022 data). At $8,232 per year, the Veteran qualifies.
• Step 2: Calculate the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution: 30% of $686 = $205.80. This is their minimum required contribution to rent.
• Step 3: Determine the community's median rent and multiply by 20%. In Halifax, this is $1,475 per month using the all bedroom measure. The adjusted median market rent is $1,770. As the Veteran's monthly rent payment is less than this amount, $850 is the maximum household amount.
• Step 4: Subtract the minimum rent contribution ($205.80) from the maximum household amount ($850): $850 minus $205.80 is $644.20. The maximum allowable VHP rent supplement for this Veteran is $644.20.
• Step 5: Monitor annually, when income or unit changes.

Calculation Example 3:

• A Veteran at imminent risk of homelessness with no dependents in Calgary has a gross monthly income of $2,194.19 (this includes $1,994.19 from the Education and Training Benefit and $200 from part-time employment). The Veteran has a monthly rent payment of $1,375.
  • Step 1: Confirm Veteran's service with Veterans Affairs Canada. Determine if annual gross household income is below the Low Income Measure threshold (total income). For one person, the gross annual household income must not exceed $33,323 per year (2022 data). At $26,330.28 per year, the Veteran qualifies.
  • Step 2: Calculate the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution: 30% of $2,194.19 = $658.25. This is the minimum required contribution to rent.
  • Step 3: Determine the community's median rent. In Calgary, this is $1,700 per the all bedroom measure. The adjusted median market rent is $2,040. As the Veteran's monthly rent payment is less than this amount, the unit rent is the maximum household amount.
  • Step 4: Subtract the minimum rent contribution ($658.25) from the maximum household amount ($1,375): $1,375 minus $658.25 is $716.75. The maximum allowable VHP rent supplement for this Veteran is $716.75.
  • Step 5: Monitor annually, when income or unit changes.

Calculation Example 4:

• A single Veteran experiencing homelessness with no dependents in Winnipeg receives a monthly $271.09 Pain and Suffering payment from VAC. The Veteran has no other source income at this time, and has not yet found a rental unit.
  • Step 1: Confirm Veteran's service with Veterans Affairs Canada. Determine if annual gross household income is below the Low Income Measure threshold (total income). For one person, the gross annual household income must not exceed $33,323 per year (2022 data). As VAC Pain and Suffering compensation is not considered income for the purpose of the VHP, the income assessed is $0, and the Veteran meets this criteria.
  • Step 2: Calculate the Veteran's minimum monthly contribution: 30% of $0 = $0.
  • Step 3: Determine the community's median rent. In Winnipeg, this is $1,295 per the all bedroom measure. The adjusted median market rent is $1,554. This is the maximum household amount at this time.
  • Step 4: The maximum rent supplement the Veteran can receive is $1,554. However, this amount must be reassessed once a unit has been found, to ensure it does not exceed the total monthly rental cost.
  • Step 5: Once a unit is found and the rent supplement is provided, monitor annually, when income or unit changes. The organization should work with the Veteran to find long-term sustainable income solutions (e.g., applying for social assistance, Veterans Affairs Canada benefits).

Prevention and shelter diversion

Prevention is an intervention that provides support to people before a crisis occurs through eviction prevention and other upstream homelessness prevention services. This includes supporting Veterans who are currently housed, but at imminent risk of losing their housing, and preventing Veterans who are being discharged from public systems (e.g., health and corrections) from becoming homeless.

Shelter diversion is an intervention that helps people who are seeking access to emergency shelter to explore other safe and appropriate alternatives. This includes services to Veterans who have been discharged from a public institution (e.g., hospital stay or corrections) and are seeking access to shelter.

Note: Prevention helps people who are housed, but are at imminent risk^{Footnote 1} of homelessness, while shelter diversion helps people who are experiencing homelessness and seeking entry into emergency shelter. However, many of the same initiatives may be used with shelter diversion as with prevention.

Eligible activities include:

• All of the eligible activities and expenses listed under Housing Services, when used to prevent loss of housing or support shelter diversion.
• Landlord liaison and intervention to prevent eviction and preserve tenancy.
• Advice on budgeting, credit counseling and debt consolidation.
• Legal advice, advocacy and legal representation in order to avert eviction.
• Emergency assistance to help avert eviction or loss of housing (e.g., groceries, clothing, transportation vouchers, cleaning or repairing damage to a rental unit).
• Discharge planning services for Veterans being released from public systems (e.g., health, corrections and military) who are at imminent risk of being discharged into homelessness.
• Expenses related to responding to emergency situations (e.g., wildfires, floods), that are tied directly to supporting Veterans at imminent risk^{Footnote 1} of homelessness.

Health and medical services

Clinical and treatment services are activities that seek to improve the physical, emotional and psychological health and well-being of Veterans who are experiencing or at imminent risk^{Footnote 1} of homelessness. Eligible activities include:

• Connecting Veterans to clinical, health and treatment services through case management, including through an Intensive Case Management team.
• Partnership development, liaison and integration to bring together services to support the needs of Veterans or to establish case management teams where none exist.
• Providing general health and medical services, including counselling and substance use support services.
• Direct hiring of healthcare professionals (e.g., nurses, mental health practitioners) to provide services directly to Veterans.
• Delivery of harm reduction activities that seek to reduce risk and connect Veterans with key health and social services. These activities may include, for instance:
• the storage, distribution, and provision of materials and/or supplies (e.g., needles), and prevention interventions (e.g., targeted programming to prevent substance use in Veterans at imminent risk of or experiencing homelessness, managed alcohol programs, and connecting individuals to harm reduction activities).
• Professional fees for services provided in support of Indigenous Veterans (e.g., services provided by Indigenous Elders or traditional healers). The value of professional fees, gifts or honoraria must be proportional to the service rendered and should not exceed the reasonable and customary amount for each service.
• Supports to access traditional or culturally relevant healing services, for example:
• healing circles
• sweat lodge ceremonies
• access to traditional medicines and foods that are not offered through provincial programming

Client support services

Client support services include individualized services to help improve integration and connectedness to support structures, such as the provision of basic needs and treatment services. They may also include services to support the economic, social, and cultural integration of Veterans.

Basic needs services

Eligible activities include:

• Essential services related to the provision of emergency shelter beds, food and shelter (e.g., shower and laundry facilities, food banks, soup kitchens, community kitchens and drop-in centres).
• Supplies to support Veterans experiencing unsheltered homelessness, such as tarps, tents, sleeping bags and other basic goods.
• Longer-term food programs that are part of another eligible activity (e.g., activities that assist with community reintegration).
• Culturally appropriate services and supports for Indigenous Veterans (e.g., cultural ceremonies, traditional supports, and activities with the goal of increasing cultural connections and an individual's sense of belonging in a community).
• Basic personal items, such as clothing, footwear, blankets and personal hygiene supplies.
• Supports for Veterans with service animals (e.g., food costs, veterinary services).
• Storage for belongings (for up to 3 months).
• Repair or replacement of eyeglasses (if not otherwise covered through medical services).
• Disability-related supports (e.g., assistive devices not otherwise covered through medical services).
• Cost to issue or replace personal identification, including a Veteran's Service Card.
• Access to technology (e.g., community voicemail, safe apps, computers, etc.) in a community setting (e.g., in a resource or drop-in centre).
• Local transportation costs (e.g., bus, public transit tickets, taxi, rideshare) to support housing searches, job searches or other integration activities (e.g., appointments or reconnecting to family).
• Transportation to home community, with mileage eligibility to be determined by Recipient or Sub-Agreement holder.
• Access to oral care programs, if not covered by the federal government (e.g., Non-Insured Health Benefits Program for First Nations or Inuit), or a provincial or territorial government program.

Ineligible activities include:

• Purchase of alcoholic beverages, cannabis, or illicit substances.

Economic integration services

Eligible activities include:

• Access to income assistance: services to connect Veterans to existing income benefits and financial assistance (e.g., provincial/territorial social assistance, child benefits, disability benefits, Veterans allowance, Old Age Security, or Employment Insurance).
• Employment assistance: pre- and post-employment services (e.g., job search assistance, interview preparation) that assist Veterans in finding and maintaining employment, and building self-sufficiency.
• Essential skills assistance: services to support essential skills development (e.g., budgeting, cooking, reading, document use, numeracy, writing, oral communication, computer use and continuous learning), and/or life skills (e.g., sessions on healthy relationships, parenting skills development, effective and positive communication, budgeting, cooking and healthy eating).
• This includes connecting Veterans to education and training programs and providing services to support successful participation in these programs (e.g., bus passes, clothing or equipment, food and non-alcoholic beverages, childcare costs, internet access for the duration of the program).

Ineligible activities include:

• Employment activities normally delivered by other federal, provincial or territorial labour market programs.
• Job wages for individuals participating in an education, training, or pre-employment program.
• Salary for a teacher to provide an alternative to provincial or territorial education.
• Tuition and grants for education programs that do not relate to essential skills development (e.g., college, university, apprenticeships).
• Skills development specific to a workplace or job (e.g., occupational health and safety training, driver's education).

Social and community integration services

Eligible activities include:

• Supports to improve social integration (e.g., reasonable costs of participation or provision of recreational/sports activities provided by local community programs, cultural programs, or support groups).
• Hiring of Veteran peer-support workers.
• Indigenous and Elder consultation, gathering and preparation of traditional foods.
• Establishing and maintaining culturally-relevant responses and supports to help Indigenous Veterans (e.g., service navigation in urban centres to help establish and maintain culturally relevant support networks within an urban environment, Indigenous language and culture classes and/or gatherings or ceremonies).

Capital investments

Capital investments are intended to increase the capacity or improve the quality of facilities that address the needs of Veterans who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness^{Footnote 1}, including those that support culturally appropriate programming for Indigenous Veterans.

As a service-focused program, the Veteran Homelessness Program only funds minor capital investments.

Eligible activities include:

• Making small renovations, retrofits and repairs to shelters, transitional housing and supportive housing, or non-residential facilities that provide services to Veterans (e.g., community hubs, drop-in centers, counselling spaces). For example:
• renovating an existing facility for accessibility upgrades (e.g., a wheelchair ramp) or to meet building standards
• removing asbestos, mold, rodents or insects
• repurposing an existing facility to create transitional housing or supportive housing for Veterans
• Minor capital costs as they relate to renovation, repair or retrofit of the participant's new living space, including, but not limited to, supplies and labour costs. For example:
• patching and painting
• accessibility adaptations
• Repairs of damages to housing placements (includes private market housing).
• Purchase or rental of equipment and vehicles to serve Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness (e.g., to be used by the organization for outreach, mobile service delivery, transportation for furniture banks).

Ineligible activities include:

• New capital construction
• Renovations to privately owned homes
• Cost of purchasing land
• Construction and renovation of housing units funded through the bilateral Housing Partnership Framework agreement with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and provinces/territories.
• Investments in social housing, including:
• repairs to social housing units
• renovation of social housing units
• creation of social housing units

Coordination of resources and data collection

Coordination of resources refers to activities that enable communities to organize and deliver services in a coordinated manner. Recipients may also undertake data collection activities that enhance the understanding of local Veteran homelessness issues and help support decision-making and longer-term planning.

Eligible activities include:

• Identifying, integrating and improving services for Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
• Mapping, or contributing to the mapping of, the housing, Veteran and homeless-serving systems to identify existing programs and services and assess current capacity, program funders, and program requirements.
• Developing new or strengthening existing partnerships with service providers and other community organizations (e.g., healthcare and housing providers and local Indigenous community organizations).
• Developing or improving triage and assessment tool(s) to gather relevant information about Veterans' housing and support needs and preferences.
• Developing or improving the referral and matching process to standardize the process of filling vacancies that become available for Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
• Improving organizational capacity to serve Veterans (e.g., staff training on activities in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness).
• Conducting surveys of Veteran homeless populations (e.g., organizing volunteer training, hiring a coordinator, assistant coordinator, data analyst).
• Collecting data and information on Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness to demonstrate accountability, support decision-making and develop an understanding of Veteran homelessness in the community.
• Informing the public and soliciting feedback on activities intended to reduce and prevent Veteran homelessness.
• Technical support for collection, analysis, sharing, and management of data related to Veteran homelessness.
• Acquiring hardware/software IT infrastructure and other necessary IT equipment, and related office furniture (e.g., computers, laptops, and tablets).

For projects in communities that have existing Coordinated Access systems in place^{Footnote 9}, Recipients are required to participate in and improve the local approach to service delivery. Additional eligible activities include:

• Participating in Coordinated Access (e.g., as an access point or agreeing to fill vacancies using the community's Unique Identifier or By-Name List).
• Improving the community's existing Coordinated Access system, including:
• increasing Veteran representation on existing governance group(s)
• modifying existing access points and/or Coordinated Access processes to better meet the needs and preferences of Veterans (e.g., tailoring access points to service, revising triage and assessment tools), including updating existing policies and protocols
• Increasing the number of housing resources for Veterans (added to the Coordinated Access Resource Inventory).
• Gathering, sharing and disseminating information with the Community Advisory Board and other interested parties.
• Leveraging the community's existing use of the Homeless Individuals and Families Information System (HIFIS), or existing equivalent Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS), to collect data and information on Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.

Ineligible activities include:

• Research other than the data collection activities described under eligible activities and expenses, and information gathered or refocused primarily for the purpose of advocacy, public education or awareness. This includes funding for any advocacy, public education or awareness campaigns.
• For organizations that already use HIFIS, the purchase or development of software and/or hardware for the collection and management of homelessness data that constitutes a redundant use of funds and duplicates activities already offered through other programs.

2.2 Eligible activities under the Capacity Building Stream

The Capacity Building Stream focuses on research and improving data collection on Veteran homelessness, as well as increasing the capacity of organizations to deliver tailored supports to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

The eligible activities and expenses are grouped into four categories:

Research and analysis

Eligible activities include:

• Undertaking and supporting research and analysis on Veteran homelessness.
• Collecting information on Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness (including on Veteran sub-populations).
• Publishing and disseminating results, findings or performance information.
• Developing, testing and evaluating new tools and resources that can be scaled up or replicated to prevent and/or reduce Veteran homelessness.

Innovative projects

Innovative projects include activities that are new at the community level and advance knowledge on Veteran homelessness and best practices to address this issue.

Eligible activities include:

• Piloting new project concepts and implementing best practices at the community level.
• Activities to build knowledge and disseminate information on best practices to serve Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
• Analysis of studied practices in a new environment (e.g., the feasibility of adopting regional, national and international experiences and approaches).

Capacity building

Eligible activities include:

• Developing and expanding the capacity of service providers in the homeless and Veteran-serving sectors to better serve Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness, including:
• hiring of a dedicated project manager.
• improving organizational capacity to serve Veterans (e.g., staff training on activities in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness).
• developing and maintaining partnerships to support a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness (for example, partnerships with health services, corrections, housing providers).

Coordination of resources and data collection

Eligible activities include:

• Identifying, integrating and improving services to Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
• Mapping, or contributing to the mapping of, the housing, Veteran and homeless-serving systems to identify existing programs and services and assess current capacity, program funders, and program requirements.
• Developing new or strengthening existing partnerships with service providers and other community organizations (e.g., healthcare and housing providers and local Indigenous community organizations).
• Developing or improving triage and assessment tool(s) to gather relevant information about Veterans' housing and support needs and preferences.
• Developing or improving the referral and matching process to standardize the process of filling vacancies that become available for Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness.
• Improving organizational capacity to serve Veterans (e.g., staff training on activities in support of a broader systematic approach to addressing Veteran homelessness).
• Conducting surveys of Veteran homeless populations (e.g., organizing volunteer training; hiring a coordinator, assistant coordinator or data analyst).
• Collecting data and information on Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness to demonstrate accountability, support decision-making and develop an understanding of Veteran homelessness in the community.
• Informing the public and soliciting feedback on activities intended to reduce and prevent Veteran homelessness.
• Technical support for collection, analysis, sharing, and management of data related to Veteran homelessness.

Ineligible activities include:

• Research on topics other than Veteran homelessness.
• Information gathered or refocused primarily for the purpose of advocacy, public education or awareness. This includes funding for any advocacy, public education or awareness campaign.
• For organizations that already use HIFIS, the purchase or development of software and/or hardware for the collection and management of homelessness data that constitutes a redundant use of funds and duplicates activities already offered through other programs.

3. Administration expenses

Eligible administrative expenditures are those supporting, but not directly related to, the delivery of Veteran Homelessness Program activities. No more than 15% of the Veteran Homelessness Program contribution can be used for administrative costs, and such costs must be reflected in the proposed project budget. Eligible costs include:

• Staff expenses:
• Wages and Mandatory Employment Related Costs (MERCs) which refer to payments an employer is required by law to make in respect of its employees, such as, Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan/Québec Pension Plan premiums, workers' compensation premiums, vacation pay and Employer Health Tax.
• professional development and staff training.
• Administrative costs:
• administrative staff for activities such as accounting, reporting and human resource management.
• general administrative costs such as rent, phone/fax, postage/courier, office supplies, internet/website, bank charges, office moving expenses, office cleaning, security system, garbage removal/recycling, publication purchases, equipment maintenance, and memberships.
• Professional fees:
• contracting for goods or services such as bookkeeping, janitorial services, information technology, equipment maintenance services, security, audit costs and legal fees.
• to build organizational capacity to support Indigenous Veterans experiencing or at risk of homelessness (e.g., cultural competency training).
• Travel:
• travel costs set out in the National Joint Council of Canada's Travel Directive that are incurred by project staff, volunteers and contracted professionals. Examples include flight, hotel and car rental.
• staff and volunteer transportation (e.g., parking, bus fare, airfare, taxi, mileage, food and accommodation).
• Capital assets:
• eligible costs related to other minor capital costs (e.g., vehicles, tools, equipment, machinery, computers, IT infrastructure and furniture for service delivery).
• cost of purchasing or leasing capital assets over $1,000, excluding taxes, with the exception of facilities. Under the Veteran Homelessness Program, this includes furniture appliances and fixtures for facilities used to carry out administrative activities.
• Other activity-related costs, such as:
• activities to ensure the participation of people with lived experience in consultations or governance meetings.
• translation including but not limited to Indigenous languages.
• activities to ensure that programs and services meet the needs of Indigenous Language Communities (e.g., providing services and supports in Indigenous languages to address local Indigenous homelessness needs, engagement to ensure that programs and services are culturally-relevant and have the support of the local Indigenous community).

Ineligible costs include:

• International travel costs.
• Purchase of alcoholic beverages and cannabis.
• Costs associated with traffic fines and penalties.

4. Partnerships and coordination

Addressing Veteran homelessness in Canada requires coordination and collaboration across governments, Veteran organizations, Indigenous partners, the non-profit sector and communities.

Partnerships

Considering that Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness have unique needs and challenges, the involvement of Veteran organizations – or organizations with experience supporting Veterans – is key to the success of the program.

Guidance: Partnerships under the services and supports stream

• Partnerships between homeless-serving^{Footnote 7} and Veteran-serving organizations^{Footnote 8} must be established and maintained to meet the unique needs of Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness.
• Recognizing the overrepresentation of Indigenous Peoples among those experiencing homelessness, non-Indigenous organizations must meaningfully engage with local Indigenous organizations and communities.
• Recipients in communities that receive funding from Reaching Home: Canada's Homelessness Strategy are required to establish partnerships with the appropriate advisory board.
• In cases where Recipients^{Footnote 3} will further distribute funding to Sub-Agreement holders^{Footnote 4}, the former will be required to consult with Veteran-serving organizations and local homelessness governance structures, where they exist (e.g., a Community Advisory Board) in the sub-project selection process. This will help ensure that Veteran-specific approaches are considered when determining priorities, funding projects and delivering supports.

Examples of partnerships include but are not limited to:

• Formal partnerships with a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Letters of support from community organizations.
• Participation in multi-organization groups/committees.
• Joint delivery of a program or initiative.
• Collaboration with other organizations to develop plans or strategies.
• Supporting another organization in the delivery of programs and services.

Coordination

Coordination of services, benefits and programming from different orders of government are essential to ensure that Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness have access to a broad suite of supports.

Guidance: Coordination under services and supports stream

• Recipients in communities that have existing Coordinated Access systems^{Footnote 9} in place are required to participate in these systems. They are also encouraged to request access to the community's existing HMIS (e.g., HIFIS) or other data management tool (e.g., Unique Identifier or By-Name List) in order to keep data on Veteran homelessness up-to-date.
• Organizations that directly provide housing and have a waitlist are required to connect Veterans with Reaching Home services providers to ensure they are on the Unique Identifier List for housing placements. Additionally, any Veterans on a waitlist should be appropriately referred to other resources in the community and organizations should leverage their VHP funding to support activities that may be offered by other organizations when possible.
• Organizations are strongly encouraged to have referral systems in place to integrate benefits and services from different orders of governments (federal, provincial/territorial, municipal and Indigenous).
• Organizations are strongly encouraged to maximize financial supports to Veterans based on all available programming, and to have strategies in place to provide long-term supports to Veterans (such as by looking for reliable long-term sources of funding).
• Organizations are strongly encouraged to refer eligible Veterans to Veterans Affairs Canada case managers and/or Veteran Service Agents, as appropriate. Veterans Affairs Canada case managers and service agents will, in turn, refer Veterans to appropriate services, benefits and programs.

5. Geographic coverage

To support as many Veterans as possible across Canada, organizations are encouraged to provide services and supports to Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness who are located outside of their traditional service boundaries.

Guidance: Geographic coverage

Organizations under the Services and Supports Stream are encouraged to serve Veterans experiencing or at imminent risk of homelessness located in adjacent, rural, or remote communities (including Indigenous communities) where program funding is not available.

For example, organizations can deliver services to Veterans outside of their traditional service boundaries by:

• Conducting outreach activities.
• Providing mobile or virtual service delivery.
• Establishing or implementing referral processes with organizations in adjacent, rural, or remote communities, including participation in a Coordinated Access system, if a community already has one in place.
• Providing rent supplements, at a minimum, to Veterans in adjacent, rural, or remote communities. In these cases, wrap-around supports could be delivered through mobile service delivery, virtual supports, or by service delivery organizations in the Veteran's local community (where available).

6. Data collection and privacy

The collection of reliable data and results is a key component of the Veteran Homelessness Program. Recipients are required to collect and report on a number of datapoints, which will demonstrate accountability, develop a deeper understanding of Veteran homelessness in Canada, and support future decision-making. While specific reporting requirements are set out in contribution agreements, this section outlines general requirements with respect to data collection and privacy.

Guidance: Data collection and privacy

• All data reported to Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada should not contain any identifying client information and must be anonymized. Identifying information includes (but is not limited to) first name, last name, date of birth, etc.
• Recipients are required to submit project details data and project results through the Veteran Homelessness Program Data Collection Report.
• Recipients in communities that have HIFIS or other data management tools (e.g., Unique Identifiers or By-Name Lists) are encouraged to leverage these systems to collect program data and results. While Recipients are encouraged to leverage these systems, organizations must submit all projects results through the VHP Data Collection Report.
• Organizations must establish safeguards and measures to secure the data collected. This may include the following:
• securing an IT professional to establish and oversee server and security infrastructure.
• establishing policies and protocols regarding data management and access rights.
• Organizations should build partnerships with local Indigenous communities to ensure that data is managed, shared, and analyzed in a culturally sensitive manner.

In cases where Recipients receive data from Sub-Agreement Holders, Recipients must develop or leverage existing agreements to manage privacy, data sharing, and client consent in compliance with municipal, provincial and federal laws.

Agreements to manage privacy, data sharing, and client consent include the following:

• Data Provision Agreement – An agreement between the Recipient and the Department that outlines the roles and responsibilities between both parties, as well as authorizes the Department's collection of certain non-directly identifiable data fields. 
• A Community Data Sharing Agreement - An agreement between the Recipient and the Sub-Agreement Holder that outlines the roles and responsibilities between both parties, and includes an understanding of what information is being shared and why.
• Client Consent Form (if applicable) - An agreement between the Recipient or Sub-Agreement Holder and the client that provides consent on retaining and sharing certain data points from the client. 
• Veterans Affairs Canada Consent Form – An agreement between the Recipient or Sub-Agreement Holder and the client that provides consent to send personal information to Veterans Affairs Canada for the confirmation of service.

7. Confirmation of Veteran service

Veterans Affairs Canada is responsible for conducting service confirmation to ensure program participants are Veterans of the CAF or RCMP.

Guidance: Confirmation of Veteran service

• Organizations are required to ask for proof of service documentation for each program participant. If the individual does not have proof of their service, a self-attestation confirming the status of a former member of the CAF or RCMP will suffice to provide wrap-around supports to the individual, and should be retained by the organization in case of an audit. Rent supplements cannot be provided until VAC has confirmed the service of the individual.
• Organizations must also seek consent to share personal information with Veterans Affairs Canada for the purposes on confirming this service.
• All recipients will be required to have participants sign a consent form consenting to Veterans Affairs Canada sharing their personal information with CAF/DND, RCMP, and/or Library and Archives Canada for the purposes of confirming their former service in the CAF or the RCMP.
• Organizations are required to retain the proof of service, the self-attestation confirming Veteran status (i.e., former CAF or RCMP), and the VHP consent form (VAC1746) to share information with VAC. Program participants (outside of those for which service has already been validated for the purpose of a rent supplement) may be audited.
• Reminder, organizations must use the VAC1746 Consent Form for the Service Confirmation request to be processed.
• On an as needed basis on behalf of those program participants seeking rent supplements, the recipient organizations will either email, fax or use the MoveIt application to provide the VHP consent form and service confirmation details to VAC.
• MoveIt is a secure web based application that allows for the secure sharing of personal data. Please reach out to your Engagement and Program Officer to facilitate setting up an account for your organization.
• Fax Number:
  1-833-983-1378
  Mailing Address:
  P.O. Box 7700, IB 41
  Charlottetown, PE C1A 8M9
• Veterans Affairs Canada will use the information provided to confirm former service in the CAF and/or RCMP and this process may involve sharing information with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), CAF and/or RCMP.
• Once this process is complete, Veterans Affairs Canada will communicate results to the recipient organizations by phone, email or the MoveIt application. The organization should provide the contact information for VAC to use following completion of the service confirmation inquiry.
• In those cases where Veterans Affairs Canada confirms that the participant is not a Veteran, or the person identifying as a Veteran will not consent to sharing personal information with Veterans Affairs Canada for the purposes of confirming their service, organizations are expected to refer individuals to alternative programs, services or supports for which they are eligible, including those funded by Reaching Home Community Entities and identified through the Coordinated Access system, where applicable.

8. Official language minority communities

The Government of Canada has a responsibility under the Official Languages Act to ensure that programs and services meet the needs of Official Language Minority Communities.

Guidance: Official language minority communities

• Organizations are expected to identify Official Language Minority Communities within their community and to ensure that appropriate services and supports are available in both official languages where there is significant demand^{Footnote 10}.
• The needs of Official Language Minority Communities should be assessed in the development and implementation of organizations' Veteran programming.
• When the assessment indicates additional and specific needs for Official Language Minority Communities, organizations must have a plan in place to ensure these needs are appropriately addressed and to ensure a minimum of substantive equality.

Formal equality is achieved when members of the Official Language Minority Community and those of the majority community are treated the same way by providing identical services in English and French.

Substantive equality is achieved by taking into consideration the specific needs of the minority community by providing activities or services with different content, or using a different delivery method, to ensure that the minority receives services of the same quality as the majority.

In accordance with the organization's Contribution Agreement, the organization is responsible for the following activities related to support for official languages:

The organization shall:

• Make project-related documentation and announcements available (for the public and prospective Project participants, if any) in both official languages.
• Actively offer project-related services in both official languages.
• Encourage members of both official language communities to participate in the project.
• Provide its services, where appropriate, in such a manner as to address the needs of both official language communities.

Note: In cases where the Recipient will further distribute funding, the Recipient must ensure these criteria are considered in the planning and selection of sub-projects (sub-Agreement holders) where Official Language Minority Communities have been identified. They must be able to demonstrate how the needs of Official Language Minority Communities were considered in the assessment and selection of projects funded under the Veteran Homelessness Program.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example:

• In advance of a solicitation of proposals process, the Recipient can decide how the needs of an Official Language Minority Community will be incorporated into the project selection and/or assessment of proposals process.
• Through a partnership agreement between organizations.
• Through coordination of existing project-related services in the community that are already well-established and readily accessible.
• Organizations are encouraged to work with local Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada representatives in the application of this directive. For further support, you can contact the Engagement Program Officer assigned to the contribution agreement.