- Housing is most cost-effective treatment for mental illness: study, By André Picard, April 8, 2014, The Globe and Mail: “For every $1 spent providing housing and support for a homeless person with severe mental illness, $2.17 in savings are reaped because they spend less time in hospital, in prison and in shelters. That is the most striking conclusion of a study, obtained by The Globe and Mail, that tested the so-called Housing First approach to providing social services. Beyond the cost savings, the new research shows that placing an emphasis on housing gets people off the streets and improves their physical and mental health…”
- Study finds new approach to homelessness saves money, keeps people off street, Canadian Press, April 7, 2014, Times Colonist: “New conclusions by the Mental Health Commission of Canada suggest the ‘housing first’ approach to battling homelessness is showing real results. The report, details of which were obtained by The Canadian Press, shows more than 2,000 homeless Canadians diagnosed with mental illness have found stable housing in all regions of the country over a two-year period. The massive At Home-Chez Soi pilot project, created in 2008 following a $110-million investment from the federal government, has proven effective for people from diverse cultural backgrounds and circumstances. The study suggests it has also been cost-effective, with every $10 invested resulting in cost savings of almost $22…”
Tag: Canada
Child Poverty – Canada
Child poverty rates in Canada, Ontario remain high, By Laurie Monsebraaten, November 26, 2013, Toronto Star: “Almost a generation after Ottawa’s vow to eradicate child poverty by 2000, national and provincial report cards show very little sustained progress. One in seven Canadian children — or 967,000 — still lives in a low-income household, according to Campaign 2000 in its annual report being released Tuesday, the 24th anniversary of the historic federal pledge. In Ontario, child poverty rates mirror the national average, with about 371,000 children living in poor households, says the group’s provincial report card, which is also being released Tuesday. Alarmingly, 38.2 per cent of children of single mothers in Ontario are living in poverty…”
First Nations Child Poverty – Canada
Half of First Nations children live in poverty, By Amber Hildebrandt, June 19, 2013, CBC News: “Half of status First Nations children in Canada live in poverty, a troubling figure that jumps to nearly two-thirds in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, says a newly released report. ‘The poverty rate is staggering. A 50 per cent poverty rate is unlike any other poverty rate for any other disadvantaged group in the country, by a long shot the worst,’ said David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and co-author of the report. The study released late Tuesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and Save the Children Canada found that the poverty rate of status First Nations children living on reserves was triple that of non-indigenous children…”