Funding Announced to Address Homelessness in Central

To help address the issue of homelessness, the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment, was in Grand Falls-Windsor today to announce a commitment of $30,000 to the Central Housing and Homelessness Network.

�Generally, when we think of homelessness, we often imagine people with nowhere to live sleeping on the streets,� said Minister Sullivan. �As these are the visible indicators of homelessness, we may assume homelessness is solely an urban phenomenon. However, housing instability is a real issue for a segment of our population in communities across Newfoundland and Labrador. And so we need to be proactive and preventative in our approach to support individuals who are at significant risk of becoming homeless. As such, the Provincial Government is pleased to support the community plan developed by the Central Housing and Homelessness Network.�

Housing instability, or �hidden homelessness�, describes the occurrence of people living in cabins, tents or cars; people who �couch surf� with family and friends, or those who are forced to leave their communities in order to avail of a homeless shelter in St. John�s.

The work of the network has led to the development of a community plan to address housing and homelessness which was recently released. The funding announced today is a contribution by the Provincial Government to assist in further developing the goals of the plan to address local issues.

�We truly appreciate the commitment the Provincial Government has made today,� said Tracey Greene of the Central Housing and Homelessness Network. �This funding will help us further the goals of our plan for the greater Grand Falls-Windsor Exploits area.�

�The Provincial Government is committed to supporting community capacity building in communities across the province in response to issues of housing instability,� added Minister Sullivan. �We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with communities and other stakeholders to identify local solutions and community priorities to address housing and homelessness.�

In Budget 2009: Building on Our Strong Foundation, the Provincial Government committed $1.2 million for the creation of the Supportive Living Community Partnership, which supports a Housing First approach. This approach focuses on addressing homelessness through helping people become housed and then providing the necessary services so they may maintain that housing.

The Supportive Living Community Partnership is an initiative of the Poverty Reduction Strategy, which was created to reduce, alleviate and prevent poverty throughout the province. The goal of the strategy is to make Newfoundland and Labrador the province with the lowest level of poverty in Canada within a 10-year period. $132.2 million was allocated in Budget 2009 to assist with poverty reduction efforts.

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Photo #1: The Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour announces $30,000 to support the Housing and Homelessness Network of Grand Falls-Windsor Exploits

Photo #2: The Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Human Resources, Labour chats with members of the Housing and Homelessness Network of Grand Falls-Windsor Exploits  

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2009 09 21                         12:15 p.m.