The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness

At a Regional Council meeting on April 24, Council approved the final report of the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness to serve as the Region's official plan to prevent, address and end chronic homelessness in Waterloo Region.

The final report, Navigating Complexity Together: A Roadmap to Functional Zero by 2030, is the culmination of deep, collective community-based work to respond to the growing crisis of homelessness in Waterloo Region. The report recommends 30 actions to end chronic homelessness by 2030 and is guided by seven strategic focus areas:

• Create Policy and System Accountability
• Centre Community Voices
• Build System Bridges
• Advance Equitable Housing
• Focus on Preventing Homelessness
• Change the Narrative on Housing and Homelessness
• Advocate and Collaborate for Broader Change

Regional staff also worked with The Social Development Centre (SDC) through an innovative partnership that shared insights of people with lived or living experience of homelessness directly to the project. The SDC-led Lived Expertise Working Group published the Lived Expertise Prototyping Report to complement the Plan.

Region of Waterloo staff and community presented the final report at Community and Health Services Committee earlier this month. Watch the presentation.

Download Council Report CSD-HOU-24-006

Next steps

Regional staff will work with area municipalities, co-creators, and lived experts on implementing The Plan’s recommendations in the coming months. Stay tuned for more updates as the work progresses.

In a Special Council meeting on Tuesday, February 6, Regional Council approved an allocation plan for $10.2 million in additional funding this year as part of The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness.

Council prioritized the original Fee for Service Requests at $3.1 million at a 10 per cent reduction giving the Fee for Service recipients $2.79 million and allocating the remaining funding ($7.42 million) to the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness budget requests.

This will accelerate the work to end chronic homelessness in Waterloo Region. A full report on the Plan to End Chronic Homelessness will go to Regional Council in April with recommendations.

Watch video on YouTube

Read the report (CSD-HOU-24-002)

Regional Staff presented an update report at the Community and Health Services Committee meeting on Wednesday, November 7.

(External link) Watch video on YouTube

Read report CSD-HOU-23-028

A Mid-Project Key Findings Report for The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness is now available. The report summarizes input received from the community and explores the current state of the Housing Stability System in Waterloo Region.

Read the report.

The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness project partners presented an update at the Community and Health Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, September 12, 2023.

Watch video on YouTube

Watch video on YouTube

The Plan to End Chronic Homelessness project partners presented an update at the Community and Health Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023.

Watch video on YouTube

This week at Community and Health Services Committee, representatives of the Region of Waterloo, Overlap Associates and The Social Development Centre Waterloo Region (SDCWR) presented an overview of the project to create a Plan to End Chronic Homelessness (The Plan).

“This will be a plan created in the community, by the community, for the community,” said Peter Sweeney, Commissioner of Community Services. “We are taking a different approach to the development of this plan. It will require unprecedented collaboration. For the first time, the plan will not only be based on research, best practices and widespread community engagement but also will be co-created by those with lived expertise, service providers and community partners. There is a seat at the table for anyone who wants to be involved in finding solutions to ending chronic homelessness in Waterloo Region.”

Read the full media release