Pilot project in the Sault aims to slash homeless numbers

A pilot project in Sault Ste. Marie is aiming to reduce homelessness by 14 per cent, using a model that could be replicated elsewhere across Canada.

A one-year pilot project in Sault Ste. Marie aims to tackle homelessness from an earlier stage.

While most efforts focus on people trying to find a way off of the streets, the new initiative aims to prevent people from losing their homes in the first place.

The goal is to reduce homelessness by 14 per cent over the 12-month period of the pilot project.

The local social services board and its partners are receiving more than $500,000 from the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, backed by the federal government.

“What’s really different about this program is it’s going to allow us to hire four housing support workers who are going to work with individuals who are at a crisis point or on the verge of an eviction,” said Stephanie Pagnucco of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services.

They will “give them the supports that they need to navigate the system to access all the great supports that social services does currently have and ensure that they stay housed.”

Tim Richter, of the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, said it actually costs much less to prevent homelessness than it does to address it after the fact.

“It is far cheaper,” Richter said.

Prevention is better than a cure

“It is far healthier for people that are involved to prevent their homelessness from happening in the first place than to have to try and help them reestablish their lives and deal with the damage that homelessness inevitably causes.”

Sault Ste. Marie is one of many cities across the country receiving this funding, with other projects focusing on areas such as veteran or youth homelessness.

Each effort will be heavily documented to report back to the Alliance on what works and to what degree.

“Ending homelessness is a process of continuous improvement,” Richter said.

“So, looking at the data, trying to find an idea that’s going to help you reduce homelessness, testing the idea and if it works, scaling. And the additional thing we’re doing here is also sharing that information around the country.”

“If we make a great go at it, if we keep 14 per cent of people in their homes, that makes a really strong case for integrating this into our greater housing strategy and how we budget going forward,” Pagnucco added.

The Sault project expects to see 42 residents living in social housing avoid becoming homeless. The local services board is partnering with the Ontario Aboriginal Housing Services, John Howard Society, and Niigaaniin Services.

The $500,000 pilot wraps up on March 31, 2027.