1.0 Introduction

The City of Windsor engaged Vink Consulting in the fall of 2019 to conduct a review of emergency shelter services in Windsor Essex. The purpose of the review was to make recommendations towards an efficient, effective and supportive shelter system that is nimble and focused on core services to address client needs. The review was focused on shelters serving individuals experiencing homelessness, although 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.

The City was particularly interested in:

• Best practices and funding arrangements in comparable communities

• Stakeholder perspectives

• Service strengths and gaps

• Current and future shelter needs

• Current costs and funding of shelter services

• Services provided by shelters and alternatives to current service access methods

• Service delivery models and roles and responsibilities of City and service providers

• How the emergency shelter system is impacted by other services/systems/institutions

• The alignment of emergency shelter services with municipal, provincial and federal legislation, policies, plans and service agreements.

Shortly after the draft report was prepared the COVID-19 pandemic began. The pandemic required certain immediate shelter service delivery adjustments to address the initial COVID-19 state of emergency and will also require adjustments for the medium and long-term, at least until a vaccine is available. As such, additional research and analysis was conducted and the draft findings and recommendations were updated in June 2020 in response to the new reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Evaluation Questions

Nine key evaluation questions were developed based on the key aspects of the review.

1. How does Windsor Essex’s emergency shelter services align with municipal, provincial and federal legislation, service agreements and policy statements and the Windsor Essex Housing and Homelessness Master Plan and what changes should be made to better align with these?

2. What are the best practices in emergency shelter services, shelter system design and funding arrangements, and how does Windsor Essex compare to best practices and comparable Ontario municipalities?

3. What are the current service strengths and gaps in emergency shelter services in Windsor Essex?