Homelessness increases in Hastings County despite 50% federal reduction targets

The Community Homelessness Report (CHR) is the community’s self-assessment of their progress in implementing the federal government’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy. It is an annual reporting deliverable that supports communities to prevent and reduce homelessness using a more coordinated, systems-based and data-driven response.

Communities must use their Reaching Home outcome data, as reported in their Community Homelessness Reports, to highlight where they should focus their efforts to prevent and reduce homelessness in the coming years. This includes developing and/or updating clear plans of action that help them to reach their homelessness reduction targets and to leverage the collective efforts of service providers working across the community, over and beyond Reaching Home-funded service providers.

Reaching Home directives

Self-assessment

In 2023, Hastings County missed all of its homelessness reduction targets for Belleville except for fewer returns to homelessness.

Community-level outcomes

Indigenous collaboration

• Hastings County continues to strengthen relationships with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (MBQ).
• A new Community Advisory Board (CAB) includes a professional Indigenous member from MBQ to help guide Indigenous-focused priorities.
• Indigenous overrepresentation in local homelessness is acknowledged; however, Indigenous partners were not directly engaged in target-setting or data interpretation.

Outcomes-based approach

• Hastings County has an Outcomes-Based Approach in place and submits monthly CHR data.
• The BNL continues to be maintained in Excel alongside HIFIS while data integrity is improved.
• A dedicated HIFIS Specialist is planned to improve reporting and data quality.
• Monthly outcome tracking is in place; annual data reporting is not yet required.