The Housing-Focused Shelter Manual created by OrgCode in partnership Canadian Shelter Transformation Network and the Canadian Alliance with the to End Homelessness states low barrier shelter “means that every reasonable barrier to shelter access (and by extension housing access) has been removed. To become a low-barrier shelter, it may be necessary to examine things like intake processes, rules and expectations, sleeping arrangements, hours of service, and how belongings are investigated or stored when brought onto the shelter premises.”1
The updated Plan identified a number of actions related to emergency shelters:
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Determine opportunities to improve shelter services and implement recommendations to ensure approaches are low barrier, focused on permanent housing outcomes, and meet peoples’ needs
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Implement diversion practices from shelters
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Implement the federally mandated system-wide homelessness data management information system otherwise known as the Homeless Individuals and Families Information Systems (HIFIS 4.0) in the emergency shelters
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Establish accountability standards, quality standards, and performance measures for emergency shelters
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An increase in targeted services for Indigenous people within shelters
In September 2019, the contract with Vink Consulting was amended and the firm commenced a review of emergency shelter services in Windsor Essex. The purpose of the review was to make specific recommendations toward an efficient, effective and supportive shelter system that is nimble and focused on core services to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
The review looked at services provided by the following emergency shelters:
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Salvation Army
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Welcome Centre Shelter for Women & Families
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Downtown Mission
Although the review was focused on shelters serving individuals experiencing homelessness, it is also recognized that there are additional shelters with varying funding sources that serve survivors of domestic violence, women, men, youth, families, and refugees.
1 “Housing-Focused Shelter”, prepared by OrgCode Consulting Inc. in partnership w ith the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness and the Canadian Shelter Transformation Netw ork, 2019 . http://transformshelter.ca/wp-content/uploads/Housing-Focused-Shelter- Manual.pdf