Community Advisory Boards (CABs) for Reaching Home program

Community Advisory Boards (CABs) are the local organizing committee responsible for setting direction for addressing homelessness in a community or region, and are expected to coordinate efforts to address homelessness in a community and have in-depth knowledge of the key sectors and systems that affect homelessness priorities.

CABs will maintain their important advisory function under the federal government’s Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, through which it is investing $5B over nine years (2019 – 2028) under the National Housing Strategy Act (2019).

CABs are responsible for:

• Approving Community Plans at the local level
• Assessing and recommending projects for funding to Community Entities
• Being representative of the community
• Supporting Community Entities in the governance, planning and implementation of new features of Reaching Home, including Community Progress Reports.

While any Canadian community can take part, Designated Communities are required to have a CAB.

To allocate program funding to the community, the Reaching Home directives require that a Community Advisory Board (CAB) guide the development of a Community Plan and assess and advise on projects for funding.

Reaching Home funding is then allocated to community organizations through an application process that results in two-year contracts with organizations that best support the community plan.

The Community Advisory Board (CAB), applicable to Designated Communities, Indigenous Homelessness and Territorial Homelessness funding streams, or Regional Advisory Board (RAB), applicable to the Rural and Remote funding stream, is the local organizing committee responsible for setting direction and priorities for addressing homelessness in the community or region.

The CAB/RAB is expected to coordinate efforts the community or regional level. This requires in-depth knowledge of the key sectors and systems that affect local priorities. The support its role, the CAB/RAB is also expected and encouraged to have an engagement strategy in place that explains how it intends to achieve broad and inclusive representation, coordinate partnerships with the necessary sectors/systems to meet its priorities, integrate local efforts with those of the province or territory, and recommend projects to the Community Entity.

8.1 Roles and responsibilities

The CAB/RAB is responsible for the following:

• Helping to guide investment planning, including the development of the Community Plan (where required) and provide official approval.
  • The CAB/RAB is responsible for engaging with key community organizations and individuals in the community (including Indigenous peoples and people with lived and living experience) beyond the homeless-serving sector.
  • In partnership with the Community Entity, it is also responsible for gathering all available information related to local homelessness needs in order to identify priorities, understand what is working and what is not, and develop a coordinated approach to meet local priorities.
• Assessing and recommending projects for funding to the Community Entity.
  • The CAB/RAB is expected to undergo this process with a comprehensive understanding of the local homelessness priorities in their community.
  • It is responsible for supporting a fair, equitable, and transparent assessment process as set out by the Community Entity.
  • Members must recuse themselves in situations where there is a real or perceived conflict of interest (e.g., ties to proposed projects).
  • To support the formal assessment and recommendation of projects, Community Entities must provide CAB/RAB members with prospective project information, including activities and intended outcomes.
  • While the CAB/RAB is responsible for assessing and recommending projects for funding, the Community Entity has the ultimate responsibility for funding decisions in an open, fair, and transparent manner.
• Being representative of the community or region.
  • The CAB/RAB is responsible for recruiting members, and is expected to ensure that its composition has broad and inclusive representation.
  • It is also expected to engage in meaningful collaboration with key partners, including provincial/territorial, municipal and Indigenous governments as well as entities coordinating provincial/territorial homelessness initiatives at the local level, where applicable.
• Supporting Community Entities in implementing, maintaining, and improving the Coordinated Access system, use of HIFIS, as well as preventing and reducing homelessness using an Outcomes-Based Approach.
• Reviewing and approving the Community Homelessness Report.

Reaching Home directives

Attending a CAB meeting

If you are interested in attending a CAB meeting, contact your local Service Manager:

Given that the Community Advisory Board is not a Committee of Council but rather a group brought together as a requirement of the Federal Reaching Home Funding Program, the agendas and minutes are not housed on our website.  The recommendations of the Board are brought through to our Community and Human Services Committee and then onto to County Council for consideration and approval and those reports are available on the website.