Provincial Support - Social Services Relief Fund (SSRF) COVID-19

In March, Ontario announced an initial investment of $148 million to support municipalities, homeless shelters and individuals. The City of Windsor as the Service Manager received $3.7 million from the Province. This funding was used primarily to support people experiencing homelessness to increase physical distancing in shelters, purchase of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and providing isolation spaces, where required.

On July 2, the Provincial government announced an additional $150 million in one-time funding to be committed by March 31, 2021. Similar to the initial $148 million in SSRF funding, this funding will flow to Service Managers through the Community Homelessness Prevention Initiative (CHPI). Specific details on the initial planning allocations and amendments to the CHPI Program Guidelines and new business case requirements will be provided to Service Managers later this month.

Similar to the initial SSRF, operating expenses will continue to be an eligible use of funds (e.g., assisting vulnerable people with activities such as food security, personal protective equipment, and housing stability initiatives). Additionally, capital expenditures will be a new eligible expense, under this second phase of SSRF (e.g., renovation of existing shelters and supportive housing, as well as the purchase of facilities) to meet physical distancing and public health requirements. Any additional SSRF funding granted by MMAH will require the submission and approval of a business case.

Federal Support - Canada’s COVID -19 Economic Response Plan

The Federal government provided COVID-19 funding through the Reaching Home program. As the Community Entity, Windsor received $1.478 million from Reaching Home. Communities already have significant flexibility in how Reaching Home funding can be used. The guiding principle is that anything that would improve the capacity of homelessness service providers to serve clients is eligible. For example:

• securing additional accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters;

• purchasing supplies and materials to reduce the risk of transmission, such as personal protective equipment for staff;

• increasing the frequency of cleaning with disinfectants in high traffic areas;

• securing sufficient accommodation to quarantine individuals infected;

• purchasing beds and physical barriers to place between beds in newly purposed facilities; and

• staff hours to operate these new facilities.

The federal government has also announced it is increasing its homelessness funding under their Reaching Home program to respond to COVID-19 related need and will be providing Reaching Home with an additional $157.5 million to support people experiencing homelessness during the COVID-19 outbreak. The funding can be used for a range of needs such as purchasing beds and physical barriers for social distancing, and securing accommodation to reduce overcrowding in shelters. On May 22, 2020, the City of Windsor submitted a request for an additional $5.6 million in funding.