Sudbury homelessness programs get $1M injection

Housing and homelessness programs in Sudbury will benefit from one-time transitional funding of a little more than $1 million from the provincial government.

The money will provide the City of Greater Sudbury with additional flexibility to help individuals and families in need, said Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci.

Sudbury is one of a number of qualifying municipalities to receive a part of the$42 million made available through the Ministry of Community and Social Services. The funds will be used to implement the new consolidated program known as the Community Homeless Prevention Initiative (CHPI), a 100-per-cent provincially funded investment of $246 million for 2013-14.

Municipalities have had long-standing responsibility for addressing housing and homeless needs, according to a press release. CHPI consolidates a variety of existing programs to enable them to better design supports that reflect their local priorities. This funding will help them as they move to the new model.

Municipalities have been asked to allocate these funds in ways that will help meet the emergency needs of their residents, including clients of Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program who may be at risk of homelessness.

Those municipalities will need to report to the government about their implementation plans for the additional funding and report back to the government on how the funds were used.

“On behalf of city council, I'm pleased the provincial government is providing this one-time housing support,” said Mayor Marianne Matichuk. “I look forward to continuing to work with the province and MPP Rick Bartolucci in meeting the needs of all Greater Sudbury residents.”

“This one-time grant will work in combination with existing housing and homelessness supports,” said Bartolucci. “Our goal is to ensure security and stability for people receiving assistance from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program while municipalities develop their CHPI investment plans.”