Join us for a live webcast...
Housing, Homelessness and Inclusion:
Targeted Responses for Specialized Populations

Housing and homelessness affects individuals who face a diversity of circumstances in Albertan communities. This panel brings together service providers to discuss innovative models and how they build on the strengths and address the needs of the specialized populations they serve. This webcast aims to generate new insights through this discussion of lesson learned from the realities of the people being served. There will be an opportunity to ask questions to panel members through the webcast.
 
Panel members include:
  • Jocelyn Adamo, Boys and Girls Club of Calgary
  • Ken Armstrong, Bent Arrow
  • Monique Auffrey, Discovery House
  • Jeff Dyer, Accessible Housing
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
9:30 am to 11:30 am (MST)

  • There is no charge to view the session via webcast.
  • Watch from work, home, a coffee shop by yourself or with your team. 
  • A recording of this webcast will also be available for free on the internet for future viewing.  

Research underway and completed in the area of Housing and Homelessness

As part of the Housing and Homelessness Research Strategy for Alberta,  The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research supports the exchange of research projects "in progress". We've heard from stakeholders about the value of sharing research at earlier stages so that projects can build upon each other's insights and knowledge.
 
If you'd like us to feature a research project that you are working on, please contact us at [email protected].
 
Who are the Homeless in Slave Lake?
Investigator: Dr. Anne Marie McLaughlin, [email protected] Funded by: Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research
 
Project Summary: In partnership with the Slave Lake Friendship Centre this research attempts to explore the question of "who are the homeless in Slave Lake?". Homelessness in Slave Lake over the last few years has taken on a very high profile for most members of the community, in part due to the recent wildfire that caused many to be homeless (though temporarily). Beyond the fire and the rebuilding, a persistent number of individuals appear to be chronically homeless, while others appear to be episodically homeless. The ultimate purpose of this research is to explore exactly who is homeless in slave Lake, who is at risk of homeless and what supports are necessary to prevent and to ameliorate the issue.
 
Domestic Violence & Renting in Alberta: Exploring Landlords' Roles in Supporting Tenants At-Risk of or Experiencing Domestic Violence
Investigator: Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta
Contact: Lois Gander, [email protected]
Funded by:  Government of Canada's Homelessness Partnering Strategy through Homeward Trust Edmonton
 
Project Summary: CPLEA will explore ways landlords can more effectively help tenants at-risk of or experiencing domestic violence. This research will be used by CPLEA staff in future projects to design resources that will help landlords play their roles effectively. We would like to thank the Alberta Residential Landlord Association; the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters; the Edmonton Community Legal Centre; and the Stop Abuse in Families Society for their support and assistance with t his project. This study follows up on a study undertaken by CPLEA in 2014, CPLEA, The Hidden Homeless: Residential Tenancies Issues of Victims of Domestic Violence available at cplea.ca. CPLEA also maintains a website, WillowNet.ca, featuring plain language legal information on abuse and the law in Alberta.
Watch recorded sessions from the 7 Cities Conference on Housing First and Homelessness

The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research is pleased to provide stakeholders with two recorded sessions from the 7 Cities Conference on Housing First and Homelessness held May 5 in Calgary .  This webcast is made possible through a partnership between ACCFCR, Government of Alberta, and the Alberta Interagency Council on Homelessness.
 
Expanding Horizons: Collaboration and Integration Across Homelessness, Housing, and Health Sectors 
 
Homeless-serving agencies, health, and housing systems (among others), play a role in collaboratively building a system of care that seamlessly supports people to access appropriate services and permanent, safe, and stable housing. 

This session explored integration as a concept, and how it is being articulated through various partnerships that have transcended traditional systemic boundaries and demonstrated successful outcomes in providing client-centred services to prevent people from becoming homeless, or to leave homelessness and achieve greater housing stability.
 

Both  collaborative projects in this showcase involve the integration of health, corrections and social service providers for the highest system users in the respective cities. These initiatives are excellent examples of system integration and the street level.  
Stories of domestic survivor survivors who have navigated the justice system told in new project

With funding from The Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research, The Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA) has completed a project to develop a plan and methodology to conduct research that will tell the stories of survivors of domestic violence who have navigated the justice system. 

This research follows up on a study undertaken by CPLEA in 2014, CPLEA, The Hidden Homeless: Residential Tenancies Issues of Victims of Domestic Violence. 

CPLEA would like to thank the following organizations for collaborating with us on this important project: Community-University Partnerships for the Study of Children, Youth and Families; the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta; the Alberta Council of Women's Shelters; and Stop Abuse in Families Society. 

CPLEA also maintains a website, featuring plain language legal information on abuse and the law in Alberta. A copy of the annotated bibliography from this project is available here. 

For more information please contact Lois Gander at [email protected]  
Feasibility study for second stage housing in High River recently produced

Rowan House Emergency Shelter has recently produced a feasibility study for second stage housing in High River. 

This paper is specifically relevant for High River and area, but also has implications that can be translated to other rural communities. While no two rural communities are the same, there are underlying commonalities that can be shared across rural areas to look at the bigger picture of homelessness for women leaving violence across Alberta. 

The paper outlines the history of Rowan House and its ongoing development of services; an overview of current housing challenges in Alberta; the need for more safe and affordable housing; a description of non-abuse specific and abuse specific housing options; an overview of additional housing models that are being used elsewhere that may be a consideration for the local area; the need for specific housing for women leaving violence; the value of domestic violence specific housing for women as well as the risk for women who use non-abuse specific housing; and barriers for women trying to access housing. 
Discerning Functional Zero

If you didn't catch it earlier this month, the Homeless Hub just posted their webinar on " Discerning 'Functional Zero'" - a discussion on a national definition to what an end to homelessness means and how to measure it.  

In this webinar, Dr.  Alina Turner discusses the proposed framework for defining 'functional zero' nationally outlined in the discussion paper developed with the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, the University of Calgary School of Public Policy, and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Tom Albanese shares the experience of efforts to define functional zero in the US and the value of consistent measures and standards. 

Kyle Pakeman focuses on the perspectives of people with lived experience of homelessness.

The paper discussing this issue is available.

H omeless Hub's Ask Me Anything

On Monday May 9th, the Homeless Hub hosted an Ask Me (us) Anything session on the Workspace with David French and Alex Abramovich, LGBTQ2S youth homelessness experts, who answered questions on the topic and on Alberta's plans to end youth homelessness. L og into the workspace t o read the transcript of this discussion.

Stony Plain releases needs assessment

Stony Plain has posted their report " Needs Assessment: Poverty and Homelessness in an Agricultural Resourced-Based Community Stony Plain, Alberta". Their needs assessment process and tools were developed in keeping with the methodology of a similar study conducted in Drayton Valley and would be of interest to other small to medium sized communities in Alberta.
 
Other resources related to this project are available.

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